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THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 
EDWIN CHARLES DARGAN 


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THE BIBLE 
OUR HERITAGE 


BY / 
EDWIN CHARLES DARGAN 


ONE TIME PROFESSOR OF HOMILETICS IN THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST 
THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY 


Author of “The Art of Preaching in the Light of Its History,” 
“A History of Preaching,” ete. 


NEW 69) YORK 


GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT, 1924, 
BY THE SUNDAY SCHOOL BOARD 
OF THE SOUTHERN BAPTIST CONVENTION 


THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


— B- 


PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


TO 
MY WIFE 


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PREFACE 


This simple little book grew out of some talks, 
and later a series of lectures, given at different 
times and places to groups of Sunday-school 
teachers and other Christian workers. ‘They 
seemed to meet a need and a desire on the part 
of such workers for information and thought 
upon the topics presented. This led to the feel- 
ing that if the material were written out and 
published in a brief, clear and untechnical way it 
‘might reach a wider circle and be of service to 
many who have not access to more elaborate and 
‘profound books which deal with the subjects 
grouped and discussed in this volume. It may be 
that some may be moved to further study upon 
the fascinating and useful topics here presented; 
and it is hoped that many to whom the material 
is more or less familiar may be helped to a 
deeper appreciation of our priceless heritage in 
the Word of God. 

B.C. D. 
Nashville, Tennessee, 
February 22, 1924. 


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INTRODUCTION 


Tennyson wrote a famous line in which the 
speaker describes himself as ‘‘the heir of all the 
ages in the foremost files of time.’’ The phrase 
is apt and abiding. We of this generation—of 
any generation—though we walk at the head of 
the procession of humanity are yet heirs of all 
the ages past. We have inherited evil as well as 
good, but also—let us not forget—good as well 
as evil. The treasures of this ‘‘goodly heritage’”’ 
are many and priceless. They cover the widest 
range and diversity of objects and vary infinitely 
in quality and character. There are treasures of 
knowledge, of literature, of art, of principles of 
conduct, of institutions and laws, of sentiments 
and opinions, of social and political aims and 
ideals. 

Among the chief treasures of our splendid heri- 
tage from the past is that unparalleled collection 
of ancient writings which we familiarly know as 
the Bible. It is a treasure house of the loftiest, 
purest and best sentiments that can be awakened 
or encouraged in the soul. We love the Good 
Book because it teaches and helps us to love 
everything that is good and brings the supreme 


message that God himself is Love. Paul touched 
ix 


x INTRODUCTION 


one of the high places when he wrote: ‘‘Now 
abideth faith, hope, love, these three, and the . 
greatest of these is love.’? The many forms and 
phases in which that supreme sentiment is pre- 
sented in the Bible may well claim a moment’s 
notice. 

The love of man and woman—husband and 
wife—the sweet and tender sentiment that en- 
nobles and purifies sex attraction, is set forth 
and safeguarded in the Bible with a wealth of 
illustration, example, counsel and command be- 
yond all valuation. And following this the love - 
of offspring is touched with the radiance of the 
spiritual and divine and becomes more than the 
beautiful animal instinct of the mother bird or 
beast, or the herding or protective impulse of the 
male of the species. The Bible teaches in the 
noblest way the love and care of parents for their 
children, and reciprocally the love and duty of 
children for parents. And we know that where 
that Book has had and holds its beneficent sway 
over the hearts of men there the happiest and 
the best homes are found. 

Besides the domestic sentiments many others 
are forcibly taught in this Book of books. The 
love of country and home, of neighbors and 
friends; the blessedness of virtue, the joy of 
peace, of justice, of courage, of all that is high 
and holy in human feeling and desire are por-’ 
trayed here. Paul again touches the lofty height 
of eloquent and just statement when he says: 


INTRODUCTION xi 


‘*Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things 
are honourable, whatsoever things are just, what- 
soever things are pure, whatsoever things are 
lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if 
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 
think on these things.’’ And his closing appeal, 
‘‘think on these things,’’ brings us to another 
aspect of the matter. 

The Bible is a heritage of thought. It does not 
contain, was never intended to contain, the whole 
sum of human thought and knowledge. But when 
all proper qualifications are made, it remains 
true that the debt we owe to the Bible as an in- 
tellectual force in human history is beyond all 
computation. It sheds light upon all the prob- 
lems of the human mind. It reaches back to the 
beginning of all things, and points forward to 
the final consummation—that ‘‘far off divine 
event to which the whole creation moves.’’? It 
does not tell men all that they want to know, but 
it places in their hands the clew to the labyrinth 
and the key for the final escape. Its leading 
themes are God, the universe, man, sin, salvation 
and immortality. No greater thoughts have ever 
engaged or can engage the mind of man. The 
vast literature which the Bible has produced on 
these and kindred themes is itself an indestruct- 
ible witness to the place which it holds among 
the intellectual forces of the world. 

And not only has it produced, and is continu- 
ing to produce, a great literature, but it is itself 


xii INTRODUCTION 


a literary collection of the utmost value. Lit- 
erature is the expression and preservation of 
thought. As such it is now so vast as to be prac- 
tically beyond estimate, so varied as to challenge 
wonder and joy, and so priceless as to awaken 
admiration or even awe. The Bible holds high 
place in this great assemblage of the fruits of 
human thought, and that without reference to its 
divine inspiration and authority. Its contribu- 
tion to the literature of history is beyond price, 
to that of poetry is rich and lofty, to that of 
philosophy (in its broadest meaning as the theory — 
of all human life) is of surpassing moment and 
value. | | 

The Bible is also a noble heritage of moral 
teaching. In answer to an inquiry our Lord de- 
clared that the first and highest of all the com- 
mandments and therefore the first and highest of 
all human obligations is: ‘‘Thou shalt love the 
Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy 
soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength.’’ Hach term is expressive, but the sig- 
nificant thing is that mind, soul, and strength 
are placed under the leadership and drive of 
love, the supreme emotion. The foundation of 
ethics is the character and will of God. In his 
revelation of himself to his chosen people God 
says: ‘‘Be ye holy, for I am holy.’’ And Jesus 
expresses this grand principle in his own way 
when he declares (and it matters not for the 
moment whether the language is imperative or 


INTRODUCTION xiii 


descriptive): ‘‘Ye therefore shall be perfect, as 
your heavenly Father is perfect.’’ And on this 
the saintly William Law remarked: ‘‘The ques- 
tion is not whether gospel perfection can be fully 
attained, but whether you come as near it as a 
sincere intention and careful diligence can carry 
-you.’’? Thus in the Bible the character and will 
of a perfect divine Being are proposed as the 
essential principle in even the consciously im- 
perfect struggle of a human soul toward perfec- 
tion. 

On the basis of the divine character and will 
rests the human obligation. Our moral duties 
are mainly our duties to each other. And these 
are provided for in what, on the same occasion, 
Jesus recognized as the second law: ‘‘Thou shalt 
love thy neighbour as thyself.’’ This was another 
way of putting the Golden Rule: ‘All things 
therefore whatsoever ye would that men should 
do unto you, even so do ye also unto them.”’ 
Like every other rule it is not without exceptions, 
which, however, are more apparent than real. 
But properly understood and applied it is the 
sum of human duty toward fellow man. Paul, 
with characteristic logic, says, ‘‘Love worketh no 
ill to his neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling 
of the law.’’ Both as a theory of ethics and as 
a basis of practical and personal moral conduct 
there is and there can be no higher principle than 
that which the Bible teaches. 

To sum it all up, we would say that the Bible 


xiv INTRODUCTION 


is our greatest heritage in the sphere of religion. | 
Its opening language is, ‘‘In the beginning God’’; 
its closing prayer is, ‘‘Hven so, come quickly, 
Lord Jesus.’’ Certainly the one essential thing 
about the Bible is its distinctively religious mes- - 
sage. All things are included in this. Through 
all its sentimental, intellectual, and ethical fabric 
runs this one golden thread: the Bible shows us 
the way to God and helps us to find it. It brings 
the assurance of God’s reality, approachableness, 
grace, and power. It rebukes human pride, con- 
demns human sin, awakens the conscience, draws 
out the affections, offers salvation and promises 
immortality. The whole sum and substance of 
religion in its most intense personal realization 
and in its broadest universality is expressed and 
enjoined in this fadeless Word of God. As com- 
pared with other religions, or no religion, the 
religion of the Bible presents to us the best — 
God, the best possible man, the best way for man 
to find God, and then the best results and expres- 
sions of that most vital and precious of all dis- 
coveries. 


CONTENTS 


PREFACE . } ‘ . ; : , ! : 
INTRODUCTION y ; . ’ : : 
CHAPTER 
I Tue WRITING oF THE BIBLE . 
II Tue PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE . 
III Oriernan Laneuaces AND TRANSLATIONS 
IV Tue Brste in Eneuisu . 
V ConreNTs oF THE BIBLE . 
VI Reapina Ae STUDYING THE BIBLE 


VII Teacuine THe Brsre In SunDAy ScHoor 


VIII Tue Bisrte anp Mopern LIFE , i 


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CHAPTER I 
THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 


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THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


CHAPTER I 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 


We have come to speak of the Bible as a 
‘“book,’’ but we know that strictly speaking it is 
a collection of books—sixty-six of them, thirty- 
nine in the Old Testament and twenty-seven in 
the New. The Bible is ‘‘a book’’ only in two 
senses: (1) its contents are printed and bound 
into one volume; (2) this external unity is based 
on the inward and vital fact that this collection 
of writings constitutes for Christians the inspired 
and authoritative Word of God, the revelation 
of his thought and will to mankind. The word 
‘“bible,’’ it is interesting to remember, was origi- 
nally not singular (&/A0s) ‘‘book,’’ but plural 
(ra £iAza) ‘‘the books,’’ meaning the sacred books, 
the holy Scriptures, accepted by Christians as the 
one Word of God, though composed of these 
sixty-six separate writings. 

Every book, and therefore every collection of 
books, before it was copied or printed or other- 
wise reproduced must have been composed and 


written. Now the actual writing may have been 
19 | 


20 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


done either by the author or by some other writer 
under his direction. This is as true of the books 
of the Bible as of any other writing. Its sixty- 
six books were written, then copied, translated 
into other languages, copied again, then printed, 
and reprinted in millions of copies, as we have it. 
But far back of these printed copies of the trans- 
lated Bible as a whole lies in the long ages ago 
the writing in ancient Hebrew and Greek of each 
one of the sixty-six books which make up our 
Bible. We are to think together of how this won- 
drous Book, or collection of books, came to be 
written: Its divine Author, its human writers, the 
process of writing. 


The Dwime Author 


Among the many thousands of ancient writ- 
ings which have come down to us through the 
processes of copying, translating, and printing, 
what sort of place does this Bible, this collection — 
of sixty-six books, hold in the estimation of man- 
kind? There are many who know nothing about 
it, many who know of it, but have no special or 
personal interest in it, and many who have only 
a vague or languid interest as in a great matter 
of general knowledge without any particular care 
for deeper knowledge. There is also a group of 
scholars and thinkers who have a profound scien- 
tific, historical, literary interest in the Bible 
such as they would have in any important and 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 21 


unusual collection of human writings. As a col- 
lection of religious literature with some degree 
of historical value but only as a human produc- 
tion the Bible appeals to thinkers of this kind 
with varying force and for various reasons. But 
to us Christians the Bible is far more than a 
human book. We hold that it is the one and only 
true revelation of God to men, bringing to them 
his truth and his law; that back of and through 
the human writers were the presence and influence 
of God, and sometimes his direct communication 
and command; and that this divine direction was 
not merely ordinary and providential, but was 
extraordinary and supernatural. In other words 
we hold that the Bible, though written by men, 
was inspired by God in such an actual and per- 
sonal way as to be his own Word to us concern- 
ing himself and his relations to us. In the lan- 
guage of the Abstract of Principles of the South- 
ern Baptist Theological Seminary: ‘‘The Scrip- 
tures of the Old and New Testaments were given 
by inspiration of God, are the only sufficient, 
certain, and authoritative rule of all saving 
knowledge, faith and obedience.’’ Under this ~ 
statement, similar to many others, there is room 
for much difference of opinion as to many details 
concerning the mode, the extent, and the results 
of the divine inspiration. But the conviction 
that these sixty-six writings making up our 
Bible are the true and authoritative Word of 
God rests secure and firm on two main consid- 


22 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


erations:* its witness to itself; and the witness 
of Christian experience. 

The Bible bears witness to itself as the true 
Word of God in several clear and emphatic ways. 
First of all, many of the Old Testament writers 
in various statements claimed to write under 
immediate and positive direction of God. A com- 
mon prophetic formula was, ‘‘Thus saith the 
Lord.’’ Sometimes the claim was even more 
_ specific. These claims of the writers of the Old 
Testament to write the actually revealed truth 
_ of God were recognized by Jesus and his apostles 
to be valid.” In one memorable discourse our 
Lord declares ‘‘the Seripture cannot be broken’’ 
(John 10:35), plainly meaning that the Old Tes- 
tament revelation of God was true and final. In 
regard to the writing of the prophecies Peter 
plainly says: ‘‘Holy men of God spake as they 
were moved (literally, borne along), by the Holy 
Spirit’? (2 Peter 1:21). Paul also in a well- 
known passage (2 Timothy 3:16) speaks of the 
‘‘holy Scriptures’’ and describes them as ‘‘in- 
spired of God.’’ In regard to the divine inspira- 
tion of the New Testament writings we should 
bear in mind the promises and directions given 
by Christ to his apostles and others stating that 
they should be guided into the truth by the ae 


1 See Doctrines of Our Faith, p. 16 ff. 

2 (Old Testament)—John 10: Ob} Matt.) 236 G207 10 5 eee e 
Mark 14:27; 2 Peter 1: 19-21; 2 Tim. 3:16. 

(New ere Goan ia, 28:19, 20; John 14: ye 15 3 26,7272 
20:21, 22; 1 Cor. 2:10-18; 14:37, 38; 1 Thess. 4:2, 8; 2 Peter 
8:15, "16; "Heb. 1: Aiea: John 17:8. 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 23 


Spirit. Paul distinctly claims (1 Cor. 2:10-13) 
to teach not by human wisdom but under direct 
and conscious guidance of the Spirit; and Peter 
(2 Peter 3:15, 16) recognizes Paul’s claim and 
places his writings among ‘‘the other Scrip- 
tures,’’ that is those which bore the authority of 
God. Thus by a number of direct statements the 
Bible here and there bears witness to itself as 
the inspired and authoritative Word of God. 
Another way in which the Bible bears witness 
to itself as the Word of God and a true revela- 
tion of himself is by its contents, character and 
fruits. We cannot here elaborate this argument. 
It does not appeal to all, for some readers are 
critical and some even skeptical as to these mat- 
ters. But to.many thoughtful, earnest, compe- 
tent thinkers and scholars of all times, and to 
multitudes of plain but intelligent and serious 
people the world over, the Book, both by what 
it is and by what it does, brings the sure belief 
in its divine origin and inspiration. This con- 
viction was clearly stated and powerfully argued 
by Henry Rogers, a strong thinker of a genera- 
tion ago, in the formula that ‘‘the Bible is not 
such a book as man could have written if he 
would, or would have written if he could.’’ Even 
in our overcritical age there is much food for 
thought in this way of putting the matter. The 
Bible as a whole carries upon itself a peculiar 
and exalted character in the truths which it pro- 
nounces, the morals which it teaches, the hopes 


24 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


which it inspires, the dignity of its utterances, 
the loftiness of its claims, the force of its. ap- 
peals. And this impression of an origin and 
quality beyond man is strengthened when we 
think of the marvelous fruits and effects of the 
Bible in human life and history. ‘‘Led by its 
teachings, men have been brought to see God, to 
love and trust and serve him; they have found 
a Saviour from sin, and increasing help and hope 
in their struggle toward righteousness; they have 
learned and practiced the highest and purest 
principles of conduct toward each other; they © 
have received and cherished a firm and fadeless 
hope of eternal life.’? ® 

What has been said brings us tb consider the 
force and value of Christian experience in con- 
firming the witness of the Bible itself. We do 
not claim that this experience is decisive or suf- 
ficient in itself; but that it has strong corrobora- 
tive value. This experience is both individual 
and historic. 

We may say that it is the normal experience 
—real though of course varying in intensity and 
clearness—of every true Christian in reading his 
Bible that somehow in it God is speaking to him. 
No other literature affects him in this way. This 
feeling has been well expressed by Coleridge in 
an oft-mentioned saying:* ‘‘In the Bible there, 
is more that finds me than I have experienced 


8 Doctrines of Our Faith, p. 18. 
4As quoted by Nolan R. Best, Inspiration, p. 154. 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 25 


in all other books put together; the words of the 
Bible find me at greater depths of my being; and 
whatever finds me brings with it an irresistible 
evidence of its having proceeded from the Holy 
Spirit.’’ 

This normal individual experience is also his- 
toric. In many of the Christian creeds the first 
statement asserts the belief that the Bible is the 
inspired and authoritative Word of God. This 
is no accident; and it cannot be dismissed with 
a wave of the hand as mere ‘‘traditionalism.”’ 
The most of what we know and believe on any 
subject is more or less traditional, that is, it has 
been handed down to us from the past; not the 
fact or process of the handing down, but the 
character and contents of the tradition are what 
should concern us. And in case of a great and 
worthy body of truth the fact that it has been 
commonly accepted by serious and thoughtful 
people, even against the sharp and repeated at- 
tacks of many and various critics and through 
many ages, is no little argument in its favor. 
Judged in this way the acceptance of the Bible, 
_ through the persistent consensus of Christian 
opinion, as being the true Word of God is a be- 
lef for which no candid mind need apologize. 

Now a word as to the sixty-six books contained 
in the Bible. Why these and no others? We 
know that the thirty-nine books of the Old Tes- 
tament were those upon which the Jews had 
gradually settled as their sacred books by the 


26 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


time of Christ and the Apostles, and were rec- 
ognized by our Lord and his followers as the in- 
spired Word of God. On this basis they were 
accepted by the early Christians. And so down 
to us. As to the New Testament, it is again a 
case of Christian experience and of providential 
guidance through the centuries.’ By the middle 
of the third century the early Christians had 
been led to a final acceptance of the twenty-seven 
New Testament books as the true Word of God. 
No external authority imposed, only ratified, this 
belief. It stands through the ages as the gen-. 
eral judgment and faith of Christians.® 


The Human Writers 


In giving his revelation of himself to man God 
gave it through men. This is set out in 2 Peter 
1: 19-21, for the Old Testament and by implica- 
tion for the New; and in Hebrews 1:1, 2 for 
both. God did not ignore but used the natural 
gifts and qualities of the writers, their acquired 
knowledge and skill, and the languages, habits, 
ideas and forms of thought of the times and 
places in which they lived. Thus God did indeed 
speak ‘‘in many parts and in many ways’’ (Heb. 
1:1, 2). Some of the writers are unknown— 
many in the Old Testament, one panera: in 

5 See Dana, Authenticity of the Holy Scripture, p. 

LENDER te ina et Srp brlee Accutry of “Que ait 
cult matter here. Let it suffice to say that for various reason 


Protestant scholars have rejected all this literature, while Catholics 
have accepted some as part of the Bible. 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 27 


the New. But many of them are named or indi- 
cated, and some of these are well known. ‘Take, 
for example, Moses, David, Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Hosea, Amos, in the Old Testament, and all whom 
we know in the New: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, 
Paul, Peter, James, and Jude. Doubtless these 
and other writers wrote other books and letters 
which have not come down to us; but by God’s 
providential care these sixty-six have been pre- 
served through the centuries and grouped and 
accepted by the general, though not unanimous, 
judgment of Christian people as the true Word 
of God. Thus we reach and hold the firm and 
reasoned conviction that the Bible is both a 
divine and supernatural and a human and natural 
book. Here is no contradiction, only two parts 
of a sphere—the co-working of two forces to a 
great result. 

As to the way in which God communicated his 
thoughts and commands to the inspired writers 
we do not know enough to make positive asser- 
tions. But we accept the fact without being able 
_ to explain the manner of his guidance or direc- 
tion. Yet there are some statements and hints 
which throw light upon the matter. In Exodus 
17:14 we have God’s explicit direction to Moses 
to ‘‘write this for a memorial in a book’’—i.e., 
his solemn doom of Amalek. Again, in Exodus 
24:1-8 we have an account of the writing and 
consecrating of the ‘‘book of the covenant’’ in 
which Moses ‘‘wrote all the words of Jehovah.’’ 


28 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


In Jeremiah 36:1, 2 we have that prophet’s plain. 
and unequivocal statement that ‘‘in the fourth 
year of Jehoiakim’’ he received the positive com- 
mand of Jehovah to take a ‘‘roll of a book and 
write therein all the words’’ that he had spoken 
against Israel and Judah and others. In these 
the divine and human elements both appear. 
Coming to the New Testament and taking its 
most prolific writer, Paul, we have already cited . 
the very interesting passage in 1 Cor. 2:6-16 
where the apostle distinctly claims for himself 
(and perhaps others) that he spoke ‘‘God’s | 
wisdom in a mystery,’’ ‘‘as God revealed it 
through the Spirit,’’ ‘‘not in words which man’s 
wisdom teacheth, but which the Spirit teacheth,’’ 
and concludes his discussion with the: emphatic 
assertion, ‘‘We have the mind of Christ.’’ Here 
also the double line of divine and human activity 
appears. Peter also, as before noted (2 Peter 
1:20, 21), brings this out in regard to the Old 
Testament Scriptures, and further (3:15, 16) 
declares that ‘‘our beloved brother Paul’’ wrote 
‘according to the wisdom given to him,’’ and 
puts his writings along with ‘‘the other Scrip- 
tures.’? In the case of Luke we have a notable 
instance of how God used both the native gifts 
and the acquired culture of an accurate historian 
to write the third Gospel and the Book of Acts.’, 


7 See Robertson’s Luke the Historian for an able and fascinating 
account of Luke as a writer of history. 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE 29 


In his prefaces (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1) the in- 
spired scholar tells us something of his methods 
and purposes. 


The Means of Writing 


Under this head are included the languages, 
the material, and the processes or methods by 
which these inspired writers brought the Word 
of God to their own age and thus consciously or 
unconsciously provided for its preservation and 
transmission to all following ages down to our 
own. , 

Of course we know that the original languages 
of the Bible were for the Old Testament, He- 
brew; and for the New Testament, Greek. The 
Hebrew in which the books of the Old Testament 
were written ceased to be spoken and written 
during the Captivity of the Jews and gave place 
to the so-called Aramaic—a very similar lan- 
guage of Syrian or Chaldaic origin. The Greek 
of the New Testament differs much from the 
ancient so-called ‘‘classical’’ Greek, but was the 
prevalent, or ‘‘common’’ (xozv7) Greek of the 
times in which the New Testament was written. 
We shall have more to say about these languages 
later. Here it is enough to remark that the in- 
spired writers simply and naturally wrote down 
what they received from God in the languages 
which they and their readers used. 


30 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


The means and materials of writing*® in an- 
cient times were many and various. We here 
take account of those employed in many ancient 
writings, including the Old and New Testament 
books, namely, paper, ink, and pen.® Parchment 
or vellum does not seem to have been generally 
used until after the Christian era, and then for 
copying and preserving valued writings which 
had been first written on papyrus—ancient paper. 
As its name reminds us, this material was pre- 
pared from the papyrus plant. Strips of the 
pith*® were laid lengthwise and another layer © 
crosswise, pressure or rolling was applied, and 
the sheet was then dried and was ready for use. 
The ink was usually made of soot (lampblack) 
and gum, and was of lasting quality, as the many 
Surviving papyri show. The kind of pen seems 
to have been at first a sharpened reed (xa@Aapos) 
and later a quill (penna). 

The process of writing was probably most 
often and naturally by the hand of the writer 
himself. But it is evident that Jeremiah (Jer. 
36, especially verses 4, 17, 18, 23, 28) used the 
services of Baruch the Scribe. Also it is known 
that in writing the great Epistle to the Romans 
Paul had the help of one Tertius (16:22) who 


sent his salutation along with the Apostle’s. 


8 See the scholarly article on Writing, by F. G. Kenyon in Has- , 
tings’ Dictionary of the Bible; and the recent and interesting book by 
Gentes Milligan, Here and There Among the Papyri; also Price, An- 
cestry of Our English Bible; et al. 

9See 2 John 12; 8 Jobn 13. 

10 Some say the stems, bark and all, but Kenyon thinks that the 
description of the process of preparation given by Pliny (Natural 
History, 13: 1-13) means that the pith only was used. 


THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE ol 


That this was Paul’s custom from the first ap- 
pears from 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Galatians 6:11; 
1 Corinthians 16:21; Colossians 4:18, where he 
speaks of giving the closing salutation of each 
letter with his own hand, implying that the body 
of the letter had been dictated. Whether these 
amanuenses wrote in long hand, or first in short 
hand and afterwards wrote out in full, we do not 
know. But both ways were known and used in 
ancient times. In these natural human ways and 
through human writers the great divine Author 
of the Bible has given us his Word. 







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Cuapter II 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE 
BIBLE 


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CHAPTER IT 
THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 


To-day we have in our hands, translated, 
printed, and bound into one volume the sixty-six 
ancient writings which in their collected form 
we know and love as the Bible. It is evident that 
the original writings long ago wore out and 
perished, but copies after copies were made by 
hand until about the middle of the fifteenth cen- 
tury the art of printing was invented and since’ 
then millions, upon millions of copies have been 
made. The Bible is well described as ‘‘the only 
book never off the press.’’ 

Frank H. Mann, General Secretary of the 
American Bible Society, says: ‘‘Four hundred 
and sixty-seven years ago the first book was 
printed from movable type. That book was the 
Bible, and it took five years to complete the task. 
One of these books sold recently for $50,000. 
To-day great presses printing for the American 
Bible Society are turning off copies of the Gos- 
pels at the rate of 10,000 an hour to be sold any- 
where in the whole world for one cent each. In 
the intervening years the Bible has never been 
off the press. It has had a steady run for more 


than four centuries. Yet if all the Bibles printed 
; 35 


36 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


in all the years since printing was invented 
were available to-day, there would not be enough 
to supply the world’s present population. The 
present rate of production of Bibles is not as 
great as the birth rate. Large portions of the 
population of the world are still unable to get 
the whole Bible or even a main part in their 
native tongue. It must be said to the credit of 
the church that a vast work has been done in 
giving the Bible to the world. In whole or in 
part the Bible has been translated into 770 lan- 
guages or dialects. During the past decade the 
Bible has appeared in a new language on an 
average of every six weeks. In the past century 
some 550,000,000 copies of the Scriptures have 
been prepared by the Bible societies. Millions 
of dollars have been given by the church for this 
great task. Thousands of consecrated men have 
given themselves in sacrificial service.”’ 


Manuscript Copies 


We go back in thought (for we cannot in fact) 
to the first copies made of the original writings. 
At once we notice that the circumstances for the 
Old Testament and the New Testament are so 
widely different that it is necessary to consider 
them separately; but there are two general re- 
marks which apply to both: (1) The copies were 
‘made for religious purposes and with religious 
care, and this was a great advantage as regards 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 37 


accuracy in reproduction. (2) The materials 
used were the same as for the originals,’ except 
that for better preservation and frequent use 
vellum or parchment (the carefully prepared 
skins of various animals) was used and gradu- 
ally superseded papyrus.” Paper, as we know it, 
seems to have been a Chinese invention and to 
have made its way into Europe through the 
Arabians in the Middle Ages in time to be ready 
for the invention of printing in the fifteenth cen- 
tury. It got its name only, not its material, from 
the papyrus plant. This ceased to be used at an 
earlier date. 

In regard to the manuscripts of the Old Tes- 
tament in Hebrew, it is a remarkable fact that 
they are much fewer and much later than those 
of the New Testament in Greek. The oldest is a 
mere fragment on papyrus, and is said to go back 
to the second century.* But the oldest Hebrew 
manuscript complete and dated is a parchment 
and goes back only to 1009 A.D. How account 
for this? The manuscripts were destroyed partly 
from the ravages of time and partly by enemies 


11It is interesting to compare 2 John 12 (“paper,’® xdpros) with 
a cot 4:12 (‘“‘parchment,” wmeuBpavn, a Latin word simply trans- 
erred). 

2See the very learned and interesting discussion by Kenyon in 
Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible, article on Writing. He says: ‘“Vel- 
lum superseded papyrus as the material for the best books in the 
fourth century, but papyrus continued to be employed for inferior 
copies until the seventh century. In 640, however, the Arabs con- 
quered Egypt, and by stopping the export of papyrus, struck the 
death blow to its use as a vehicle of Greek and Latin literature.” 

3Dr. J. R. Sampey (Syllabus, Introductory Note, p. 43f, says 
there are a “codex of the Former and Latter Prophets now in Cairo, 
and dated in A. D. 895; a codex of the Latter Prophets in Petrograd, 
and dated in 916; a codex of the entire Hebrew Bible in Petrograd, 
and dated in A. D. 1009.” 


38 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


of the Jews and Christians, but many were de- 
stroyed through reverence for the Word by the 
Jewish editors and copyists after new copies had 
been carefully made. But so great was the care 
that there is no reasonable doubt that we have 
in existing Hebrew manuscripts a text very close 
to the original writings.* 

When we come to the manuscripts of the New 
Testament in Greek the case is very different, 
both as to age and number, for they are numer- 
ous and some of them ancient. As we have seen, 
the original Scriptures were written on papyrus 
leaves, and so also probably were the first copies. 
But of these papyri only a few have been found 
and they are chiefly small fragments.° Later 
vellum or parchment was used and our best 
manuscripts are of this material. They are 
written in uncial (capital) letters, or in cursive 
(flowing) hand. The uncial manuscripts are an- 
cient, one or two going back perhaps to the early 
part of the fourth century, though some of them ~ 
may have reproduced even more ancient copies. 
The writings on papyrus were usually in roll 
form; that is, the leaves were rolled around a 
stick, or sometimes around two sticks, one at each 
side or end. From this custom gomes our word 
‘‘volume,’’ from the Latin volumen, a roll. The 
writings on parchment, or vellum, were on sheets 


4 Including many fragments there are about 1,700 Hebrew manu- 
sta 4% various dates. See Price, Ancestry of Our English Bible, 
pp 

5 See Milligan, Here and There with the Papyri, pp. 27, 115, ete. 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 39° 


tied or sewed together at the edge, as our books 
are bound. A manuscript in this book form is 
called a codex. 

Leaving out the vast number of others, we 
mention five great uncial manuscripts (codices) 
which are of supreme value and interest:° (1) 
Codex Sinaiticus, or x (Aleph). It was discov- 
ered by Tischendorf in a monastery at Mt. Sinai 
in 1844, and was finally obtained by him and 
brought to St. Petersburg in 1859. It probably 
goes back to the fourth century. It is nearly the 
complete Bible, containing both the Septuagint 
(Old Testament in Greek) and the New Testa- 
ment. (2) Codex Alexandrinus, or A. It was 
presented to Charles I of England in 1627 by 
the Patriarch of Constantinople and is now in 
the British Museum. It belongs probably to the 
fourth or fifth century. It has the Septuagint 
and New Testament, but some portions are miss- 
ing. (3) Codex Vaticanus, or B. This was 
brought to Rome by Nicholas V in 1448 and cata- 
logued in the Vatican Library in 1475. It was 
jealously guarded, but was at last photographed 
and is thus accessible. It contains the whole 
Bible with some gaps, and probably belongs to 
the fourth century, and is considered the oldest. 
(4) Codex Ephremi, or C. This is a palimpsest; 
that is, a manuscript on which the New Testa- 
ment had been written and erased and something 


__6 Many treatises, but see especially Price, Ancestry of Our Eng- 
lish Bible, pp. 141-157, for an illuminating and accurate discussion. 


40 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


else had been written over it; but by care and 
patience the New Testament text can be de- 
ciphered. It is in Paris at the National Library. 
It is incomplete and probably belongs to the fifth 
century. (5) Codex Beze, or D. This was pre- 
sented by Theodore Beza to Cambridge Univer- 
sity in 1581, he having obtained it at Lyons. It 
has many interpolations, but is valuable and 
probably belongs to the fifth century. 3 


Printed Editions 


As noted before, the Arabian conquest of 
Egypt about A.D. 640 led to the disappearance 
of papyrus from use as writing material, because 
the conquerors forbade the export of the plant. 
Later the manufacture of paper was introduced 
into Europe from the Orient, and at first was used 
for the writing and copying of less valuable docu- 
ments, parchment being used for the more impor- 
tant. The practice of stamping ornamental let- 
ters was begun early in the fifteenth century and 
was soon developed into printing from movable 
types. There is dispute as to where and by whom 
the first real printing was done; but certainly 
among the earliest, if not the first, were Guten- 
berg and his helper Fust at Mainz (Mayence). 
Here the first complete book was printed; and. 
it was the Bible in the Latin translation known 
as the Vulgate. It took five years to print it, and 
it was published about 1455. Of course there 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 41 


were many errors, and the edition is of no value 
except historic and sentimental. After this the 
printing of the Bible went on with great rapidity 
and has never ceased. It was printed in the 
original Hebrew and Greek and in all the various 
translations and revisions as these were made. 

The first printing of the Hebrew text was an 
edition of the Psalms which appeared in 1477.’ 
The first complete Hebrew Bible was printed in 
Italy in 1488. Then came the famous Complu- 
tensian Polyglot at Alcala, Spain, in 1514-1517. 
About the same date came the edition of Daniel 
Bomberg, at Venice, and this has been the basis 
of the best modern editions. The first Hebrew 
Bible printed in America appeared at Phila- 
delphia in 1811. 

The first Greek New Testament to be printed 
was that brought out by the famous Dutch 
scholar Erasmus and published at Basel in 
1516.8 He had only a few (eighteen) manu- 
scripts to print from and these were not the 
best; so that the first edition was full of errors 
which were reduced in number in four succes- 
sive editions. The famous French scholar and 
printer Robert Stephens (Etienne), assisted by 
his son Henry, brought out several editions, of 
which the most important was that of 1550. 


7 See Price, Ancestry of Our English Bible, pp. 35 ff. 

8 Strictly speaking there had been some fragments printed before ; 
and the Greek New Testament part of the Complutensian Polyglot 
was actually printed in 1514-1517, but was not pubished till 1522. 
See Price, Ancestry of Our English ’ Bible, p. 189; and Gregory, Canon 
and Text of the New Testament, pp. 437 ff. 


42 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


Several editions were gotten out by Theodore 
Beza between 1565 and 1598. The celebrated 
family and firm of Elzevir at Leyden and Am- 
sterdam published many notable books including 
several editions of the Greek New Testament... 
The most famous of these was the so-called Re- 
ceived Text of 1633. The modern critical edi- 
tions have been based on these and greatly 
helped by the discovery and careful study and 
comparison of many manuscripts which the 
earlier editors did not have. Among German 
scholars are the great names of Lachmann and — 
Tischendorf, among the earlier, and of Nestle 
among the later students, who devoted great and 
painstaking care to getting a more ancient and 
purer text. In England the way was led by 
Tregelles who published his monumental edition 
of the Greek text between 1857 and 1872. F. H. 
Scrivener published several editions of the Re- 
ceived Text with the various readings of textual 
scholars printed in the margin. Then came the 
great work of Westcott and Hort, eminent and 
devout scholars of the Church of England, who 
devoted years of consecrated labor to the noble 
task of getting the purest possible text. Their 
edition of the Greek Testament was first pub- 
lished in 1881, but was permitted to be used in 
advance by the Revisers. 

Of English translations the first to be printed 
was that of Tyndale, the New Testament in 1525- 
1526, the whole Bible in 1531. Others followed, 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 48 


and then came the King James Version in 1611, 
the Revised Version of the New Testament in 
1881 and the Old Testament in 1885, and the 
American Standard Version in 1901. 

The printed editions, as we are familiar with 
them, have the divisions into chapters and 
verses; ° but these were not made by the inspired 
writers and do not appear in the ancient manu- 
scripts. ‘There were various sorts of divisions 
for worship and reading, but the first arrange- 
ment into chapters, almost as we have them, was 
introduced early in the thirteenth century. Verse 
divisions came much later; in the New Testament 
first in Stephens’ edition of 1551, and of the 
whole Bible in an edition of the Vulgate in 1555. 


The Text of Scripture 


After all this copying and recopying, translat- 
ing and revising, printing and reprinting, we 
have in hand a copy of the Bible, with its sixty- 
six books, divided into chapters and verses, all 
ready to read and study in the assured belief that 
it is the inspired and authoritative Word of God. 
But how are we sure? Have we good reason to 
believe that we have what the original writers 
actually wrote? And have we good reason to 
believe that these sixty-six books, no more and 
no less, really make up a true and authentic . 
revelation of God? Yes; both. 


9 See Gregory, Canon and Text, pp. 473 ff. 


44. THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


As to the actual writings, say of Jeremiah with 
the help of Baruch, and of Paul with the help 
of Tertius, how do we know that we have them? 
Of course it must be evident that in the copying 
and printing, and especially the copying, many 
errors were made. No copying is likely to be 
exact in every letter and dot, and as for mis- 
takes in printing we are only too familiar with 
them. So it is easy to understand that both the 
manuscripts and the various printed editions of 
the Scriptures show a vast number and a great 
variety of different readings, both as regards | 
words and sentences and in a few cases of longer 
passages. It is true that we have no manuscript 
of the Hebrew Old Testament of earlier date 
than the tenth century; but we know. that the 
Jews copied with exceeding care, and a com- 
parison of such manuscripts as remain, by the 
most painstaking study of competent and pious 
scholars, brings out the fact that the variations 
are comparatively few,’® of slight importance, 
and in no way invalidate any important fact or 
teaching of the Old Testament. We have the 
same text that Jesus and the apostles had. 

With regard to the New Testament the case is 
different both as to the number and date of 
manuscripts and as to the consequent number 


10 Dr. Price (Ancestry of Our English Bible, p. 38), says: “Kenni- 
cott and de Rossi together compared 1,346 different Hebrew manu- 
seripts of the Old Testament, and 342 reported editions, or 1,688 dif- 
ferent manuscripts. The value of their work is seen in that it showed 
that the underlying Hebrew of all the manuscripts examined by these 
two scholars and their assistants was practically on the same text,’ 


\ 


THE PRESERVATION OF THE BIBLE 45 


and importance of the variations. Many of 
these are due to obvious errors such as we are 
familiar with and correct at a glance. Of course 
these do not count. But in some cases the dif- 
ferences are of real importance. What then? 
As a rule the older manuscripts are more apt to 
be correct because nearer to the sources; but 
sometimes a late manuscript may be a good copy 
of a very early one. Much study has also estab- 
lished the character of certain manuscripts as 
being more trustworthy than others. And then 
the very number of manuscripts (greater than 
for any other ancient book or collection) makes 
the comparison very wide, and so the manu- 
scripts are corrected by each other. Then much 
use has been made of the old translations and of 
quotations in early Christian writers. Hence we 
may say that, in the wonderful providence of 
God, the patient and intelligent toil of scholars 
has given us a remarkably accurate text. 
Westcott and Hort in the Introduction to their 
edition of the Greek New Testament (page 2) 
say that the proportion of words about which 
there is no reasonable doubt is not less than 
seven-eighths. Of the eighth remaining most of 
the variations are trivial. Only about one-six- 
teenth of the words of the New Testament are 
subject to doubt, and of these the most part are 
of little comparative importance. Their conclu- 
sion is ‘‘that the amount of what can in any sense 
be called substantial variation is but a small 


46 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


fraction of the whole residuary variation, and 
can hardly form more than a thousandth part of 
the entire text.’’ Such a result is amazing, little 
short of miraculous. It shows with what won- 
derful care God has preserved his Word. ‘Some 
examples illustrate. Certain interpolations are 
(King James): John 5:3, 4 (8, A, B, C, and 
others); Acts 8:37 wanting in all the oldest and 
best manuscripts and versions. ‘T'his was arbi- 
trarily inserted by Erasmus. Doubtful passages 
are John 7:53-8:11; Mark 16:9-20. In sum: No 
essential fact or doctrine of the New Testament 
is put in doubt by any or all of these differences 
of reading in the ancient manuscripts; and no 
other book or collection of books in all the lit- 
erature of ancient times has so well attested a 
text as the Bible. 


Cuaptrer IIT 


ORIGINAL LANGUAGES AND 
TRANSLATIONS 





CHAPTER III 
ORIGINAL LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS 


One of the most valuable and fascinating of 
studies is that of language. As in case of every 
other science there is a great body of facts and 
a great array of problems. Over against the 
much we know is the more we do not know. And 
as in all other sciences we must be careful to 
distinguish between facts and theories in regard 
to the origin and development of human language 
and its many varieties. The word ‘‘language’’ 
itself means ‘‘the use of the tongue,’’ and the 
word ‘‘tongue’’ is also often figuratively used 
for what the tongue, aided by other vocal organs, 
expresses in sound, in words. Thus the idea of 
a word is first a sound chiefly produced by the 
tongue and is intended to convey thought. Then 
we have written language; that is, the use of 
signs and marks to show to the eye what has 
been or may be uttered by the tongue. Then the 
writing down of these letters and words and 
preserving them upon papyrus and skins came in 
due time and we have manuscripts; and then 
came printing and books. Now many of the an- 
cient languages, in the exact forms used by dif- 


ferent races and groups of men, have passed out 
49 


50 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


of use both in speech and writing; but many in- 
teresting and valuable specimens of their litera- 
ture have come down to us. Thus we have our 
Old Testament in Hebrew, and our New Testa- 
ment in Greek; and from these translations into 
other tongues. 


The Old Testament Hebrew 


The ancient Hebrew tongue in which the thirty- 
nine books of the Old Testament were written and 
are preserved in printed form, long ago ceased 
to be spoken and written as a living language. 
This came about through the captivity of a great 
body of the Jews in Babylon, the overrunning 
of the native land by other peoples, and the dis- 
persion of multitudes of Hebrews through all 
lands. As we have seen they were most careful 
to copy and preserve their sacred writings in the 
ancient tongue, and these Scriptures we have ° 
to-day. The language which immediately, but 
gradually perhaps, followed the ancient Hebrew 
was a closely kindred speech or dialect variously. 
called Syrian, Chaldee, and Aramaic—the last 
term being that now generally employed by 
scholars as the most accurate. It is interesting 
to note that this tongue appears in a few pas- 
sages of the Old Testament written during the 
captivity. In modern times the only living 


FS 2:4 to 7:28; Hzra 4:8 to 6:18; 7:12-26; Jeremiah ~— 


LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS 51 


speech akin to Hebrew is the Yiddish, which is 
printed in Hebrew characters and spoken chiefly 
in Hastern Europe. Zhe Standard Dictionary - 


states that it is only twenty per cent Hebrew, ~~ | 


being seventy per cent German and ten per cent 
Slavic. The Hebrew alphabet consisted of 
twenty-two letters, the first two of which &, 3, 
(aleph, beth) passed into Greek as alpha, beta, 
and give us our word ‘‘alphabet’’ as the name 
for the list of letters in any language. All the 
Hebrew letters were consonants except two 8& 
(aleph) and y (ayin) which seem anciently to 
have had some consonantal value, but it has been 
lost and they survive merely as signs under 
which to write or print the vowel points. The 
vowels had to be supplied by the reader. It was 
not until the Middle Ages (probably somewhere | 
between the sixth and the eighth century A.D.) 
that the vowel points were invented and written 
with the consonants in order to preserve or har- 
monize the pronunciation. The lines in Hebrew 
writing and printing run from right to left, in- 
stead of left to right as with us. The letters 
have few curves and are square, stiff and un- 
graceful. As now written and printed with the 
vowel points the Hebrew is somewhat difficult to 
learn and read. But there is much satisfaction 
in knowing even a little of it, since that little may 
help to a better understanding of the Old Tes- 
tament. 

The language has many beauties, and even a 


D2 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


slight acquaintance with it shows what an admi- 
rable vehicle it was for conveying the truths of 
God to the people who spoke and wrote it. Its 
narrative style is marked by great simplicity, 
directness and charm. Its oratorical portions, 
in Deuteronomy, the Prophets, and occasional 
speeches in the narrative, are full of imagina- 
tion, force, and appeal. Its poetry is rhythmic 
without being confined to measured feet, and 
rimes in thought rather than in sound, a method 
known as ‘‘parallelism.’’ Because of the infiu- 
ence of the Bible some Hebrew words, phrases, 
and modes of expression have been adopted and 
perpetuated in English and other modern tongues. 


The New Testament Greek 


Any one who knows anything of history or lit- 
erature does not need to be told that Greek 
is one of the greatest languages of all time. It - 
is absurd to speak of it as a ‘‘dead language.”’ 
it has passed through many changes in form and 
structure, but still it is very much alive and has 
been so for more than three thousand years. 
Dr. A. T. Robertson in his great Grammar of the 
New Testament Greek (page 43), says: ‘‘The fol- 
lowing is a tentative outline: The Mycenran Age, 
2000 B.C. to 1000 B.C.; the Age of the Dialects, 
1000 B.C. to 300 B.C.; the Age of the xozv7, 300 
B.C. to 330 A.D.; the Byzantine Greek, 330 A.D. 
to 1453 A.D.; and modern Greek, 1453 A.D. to 


LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS 53 


the present time.’’ Certainly during these long 
ages there have been many changes in the lan- 
guage both as spoken and as written. The lan- 
guage of the newspapers sold on the streets of 
Athens to-day differs in many details from that 
of the Greeks who talked and wrote centuries 
before Homer composed his immortal poems, but 
it is historically and organically the same lan- 
guage. There are many ways in which the lan- 
guage of these various ages has been preserved. 
There is a great body of inscriptions of various 
sorts which have been deciphered and read, there 
are many earthen vessels on which sentences and 
- names have been stamped (called ostraka), there 
are thousands of unliterary papyri, such as ac- 
counts, statenients, etc. Then there are the manu- 
scripts on papyrus and parchment, and lastly 
printed books, as we have already seen. 

The New Testament writings, as we know, 
were preserved chiefly in vellum or parchment 
manuscripts, but with some papyri, till the inven- 
tion of printing. The language of the New Tes- 
tament as compared with that of the time of the 
great Attic writers shows that it was the lan- 
guage of the day—the ‘‘common”’ tongue which 
was spoken and written by the people through- 
out the world in the time of our Lord and his 
Apostles. Through the conquests of Alexander 
and the commerce and intellectual activity of the 
Greek-speaking people, their language has be- 
come a world-speech. In the providence of God, 


D4 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


at that particular time, this wonderful language 
was ready to be the medium for communicating 
his gospel to mankind. It is believed with good 
reason that our Lord Jesus spoke Greek, but how 
much in comparison with the Aramaic vernacular 
it is impossible to determine. The Epistle of 
James, his half-brother, is written in excellent 
Greek; and, as we know, all the New Testament 
writings are in that language, even if it be pos- 
sible that a story of his life (some say the basis 
of Matthew’s Gospel) was originally written in 
Aramaic. Dr. Robertson says (page 21): ‘‘The . 
New Testament Greek will no longer be despised 
as inferior or unclassical. It will be seen to be 
a vital part of the great current of the Greek 
language.’’ Milligan has shown how the lan- 
guage of the papyri, in the common Greek, sheds 
much and valuable light on many terms and 
usages in the New Testament.? 


Translation into Other Languages 


Both the differences and the similarities be- 
tween languages are subjects of profound and 
fascinating interest. The differences make trans- 
lation at once necessary and difficult, but the 
similarities make it possible and sometimes easy. 
Only comparatively few people can or will, at 
any given time, take the pains to learn Hebrew 
and Greek so as to read what God has revealed | 


2 Here and There Among the Papyri, p. 63 ff. 


LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS a) 


to man in the Bible. Hence the need of trans- 
lation from Hebrew and Greek into other lan- 
guages was early felt and acted on and has gone 
on and on with the progress of Christianity until 
now it is said that there are about seven hundred 
languages and dialects into which the Bible has 
been translated. Besides this there are in many 
cases different translations into the same lan- 
guage. 

Now translation from one language to another 
is sometimes easy, often difficult, and occasionally 
impossible. The last occurs when the meaning 
of the word * or phrase has been lost, or the shade 
of meaning or usage in word or phrase is pe- 
culiar to one language and cannot be expressed 
by the same. terms in another, but only by a 
paraphrase, more or less clumsy. These pecul- 
iarities of word, construction, phrase and shades 
of meaning, are called idioms, and require very 
careful study.* But these differences are com- 
paratively few; and fewer still are of special im- 
portance. It is often a question of preference 
and hard to decide, where any one of several 
Meanings is possible and all are acceptable. As 
in the case of the text these comparatively few 
difficulties only emphasize the wonder that in so 
ana pannay (Huckiel'27 © 17); and meny uncertain terme and phrases 
Bionic. Tite Sales ; Leach see hc tiaa fea eeu an hens 
and exact. But in figurative uses and shades of meaning differences 
Gingiitets, and wanetic, Go out of the three, TBR Call Ene Benen 


meaning consecrate (Exodus 28:41); a ‘‘hand,’ meaning a body of 
men, especially soldiers; and a ‘‘hand,’”’ meaning a laborer, are idioms. 


56 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


many different tongues we can and do have the 
imperishable Word of God. | 

Among the many translations of the Bible only 
a few of the most important and notable need to 
be mentioned here, reserving the English ver- 
sions (except Wiclif) for another chapter. There 
are four great history-making versions: (1) The 
Septuagint (LXX)—Old Testament into Greek, 
between 285 and 130 B.C.; (2) The Vulgate— 
whole Bible into Latin, by Jerome, about 383 to 
404 A.D.; (3) Wiclif’s Bible—Vulgate into Eng- 
lish, 1884; (4) Luther’s Bible—whole Bible into | 
German, 1522 to 1534. 

The first of these is the ancient translation of 
the Old Testament into Greek, and is known as 
the Septuagint (LXX, or Seventy) from a tra- 
dition that it was the work of seventy scholars. 
It was done at Alexandria during the years 285 
to 130 B.C., largely during the reign of Ptolemy 
Philadelphus.’ Dr. Sampey says: ‘‘The Greek of 
the LXX is far removed from the classic idiom. 
Different books of the Bible evidently fell into 
different hands, and while some of the trans- 
lators knew Hebrew quite well, and Greek toler- 
ably well, others were not at home in either lan- 
guage. Most of the translators were quite faith- 
ful to the original Hebrew, while others leaned 
toward a paraphrase. The Pentateuch is best 
rendered. The Book of Daniel is the worst. The 
Apostles quote quite frequently from the Sep- 


5 Syllabus, p. 14. 


LANGUAGES AND TRANSLATIONS 57 


tuagint, and the idiom of the New Testament 
Greek (Koime) is anticipated, for the most part, 
in this early Greek translation.’’ It was widely 
used among the Jews both in Palestine and in the 
Dispersion and is often quoted in the New Tes- 
tament. 

We must pass by the Targums (Aramaic para- 
phrases of some of the Old Testament books), 
and the Syriac and other oriental versions; also 
the Gothic version of Ulfilas. All of these are 
full of interest and value. 

Of special importanee is the so-called Vulgate, 
the Latin translation made by the famous scholar 
Jerome (Hieronymus) in the fourth century.’ It 
was a revision of earlier Latin versions, opposed. 
by many, but. accepted by the Roman Church and 
finally adopted by the Council of Trent as the 
standard of the Roman Catholic Church. It was 
practically the only Bible for ages, and the basis 
of many versions. 

Wiclif, the English priest, translated the Vul- 
gate into English and it was published about 
1384, of course in manuscript form. It was really 
the first properly English version, and has a 
great place in history, as the beginning of a 
mighty religious and Biblical movement.’ 

One of the best services rendered the cause of 
the Reformation was the translation of the Bible 
into German by Martin Luther. From the Gothic 


es See Price, oe oe vi Our English Bible, Ch. VII, p. 74 ff. 
Ioid., Ch. XX, p. 8 ff., and many others. 


58 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


of Ulfilas there had been German versions, and 
some of these Luther used. He depended largely 
on the Vulgate, but translated directly from the 
Hebrew and Greek. His New Testament was 
done in three months and appeared in 1522, the 
Old Testament in 1534, and revised in 1545.8 

‘<The richest fruit of Luther’s leisure in the 
Wartburg, and the most important and useful 
work of his whole life, is the translation of the 
New Testament, by which he brought the teach- 
ing and example of Christ and the Apostles to 
the mind and heart of the Germans in life-like 
reproduction. It was a republication of the gos- 
pel. He made the Bible the people’s book in 
church, school, and house. If he had done noth- 
ing else, he would be one of the greatest bene- 
factors of the German-speaking race. His ver- 
sion was followed by Protestant versions in other 
languages, especially the French, Dutch, and 
Hinglish. The Bible ceased to be a foreign book 
in a foreign tongue, and became naturalized, and 
hence far more clear and dear to the common 
people. Hereafter the Reformation depended no 
longer on the works of the Reformers, but on the 
book of God, which everybody could read for him- 
self as his daily guide in spiritual life. This in- 
estimable blessing of an open Bible for all, with- 
out the permission or intervention of pope on 
priest, marks an immense advance in church his- 
tory, and can never be lost.’’ 

8 See Schaff, History of the Christian Church, Vol. VI, p. 340 ff. 


CuaptTer IV 
THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 





CHAPTER IV, 
THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 


The English language as spoken and written 
to-day in its native home of England, and 
throughout the countries politically and commer- 
cially connected with the parent state, and in our 
own great country and its dependencies, is a 
wonder of the world. The ancient Briton who 
dwelt in Albion’s isle has left a few old words 
to remind us of himself, then came the Angles 
and Saxons and laid the foundations of our 
speech in enduring words and forms, and then 
the conquering Norman imposed his graceful 
romance dialect upon the Anglo-Saxon basis, and 
these were scarcely fitted into one before the 
scholars of the Revival of Letters opened the 
treasures of ancient Latin and Greek to enrich 
the growing structure with pillars of strength 
and ornaments of beauty, and last came the filling 
and furnishing of the majestic palace with mate- 
rials which colonization and commerce and travel 
have brought from every shore. About midway 
of this marvelous history the first full translation 
of the Bible into English appeared in Wiclif’s 
version in 1384. Since that time the place of the 
Bible in the English language and its literature 

61 


62 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


has been one of commanding influence and of 
wide and varied importance. The story has been 
often and well told and is of fascinating and 
fadeless interest.’ 


The Early Versions 


In the Anglo-Saxon period of English history 
preceding the Norman conquest in 1066 there 
were several attempts to paraphrase and to 
translate portions of the Bible into the language 
of the people.” First was the poet cowherd 
Cedmon who paraphrased into rude verse, about 
A.D. 670, parts of the Bible as furnished him by 
the monks. Bishops Aldhelm and Egbert later 
put the Psalms and Gospels into Saxon. The 
story of the Venerable Bede (674-735) and his 
translation of the Gospel of John, finishing it — 
just before he died, is full of interest and pathos. 
The efforts of good King Alfred (848-901) to 
carry forward the work of translating the Bible 
into Saxon were checked by the Danish inva- 
sions. Later there were translations and para- 
phrases of the Psalms and Gospels and some 
other books, but the Saxon translations naturally 
ceased with the Norman Conquest (1066), and 
the fusion of Saxon and Norman into English 


1 There is a whole library of books on the subject. Our Grand Old 
Bible, by William Muir, tells the story well. A short popular account 
from the English standpoint is that of J. Paterson Smyth, How We 
Got Our Bible. The best for Americans is the able, scholarly and ac- 
curate work of Prof. Ira M. Price, The Ancestry of Our English Bible. 

2 See Price, Ancestry, etc., p. 207 ff.; and J. Paterson Smyth, How 
We Got Our Bible, pp. 42- 58. 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 63 


could hardly be said to be accomplished till the 
time of Chaucer and Wiclif after the middle of 
the fourteenth century. Then came Wiclif’s 
translation from the Vulgate completed and pub- 
lished in manuscript about the time of his death 
in 1384.° 

The next great name in connection with Eng- 
lish Bible translation is that of William Tyndale 
(1484-1536). Educated at Oxford and Cambridge, 
he was a competent scholar and master of seven 
languages. He early conceived the idea of a 
printed translation from the originals, and lived 
and died to accomplish it. The following saying 
of his to a priest became famous: ‘‘If God spare 
my life, ere many years I will cause a boy that 
driveth a plow in England shall know more of 
the Scriptures than thou doest.’? He knew he 
could not publish it in England, so went to Eu- 
rope when the New Testament was ready to 
print. He went to several places and finally pub- 
lished it at Worms in 1525. Many copies went 
to England. They made a sensation. Tunstall, 
Bishop of London, bought up many of these and 
burnt them, but this helped rather than hurt. 
Tyndale worked on the Old Testament with the 
help of Rogers. This was brought out in part 
in 1531, but was completed only after his death 


a Drlks (Ancestry, p. 227), says: “The great service done the Eng- 
lish language and the English people by Wycliffe’s combination and 
crystallization of the various dialects of England in his translation 
cannot be overestimated. He practically unified the various related 
tongues of England, and made them one for the future use of the 
Pnglish- -Speaking and writing world.” 


64 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


under the name of ‘‘Matthew’s Bible.’’ Tyndale 
was much persecuted and finally was betrayed 
and: died at the stake in 1536, praying: ‘‘May 
God open the King of England’s eyes.’’ This 
version was really the foundation of all that fol- 
lowed, and much of its language survives in the 
King James and the Revised. 

A number of versions followed. People de- 
manded the Word. The Reformation was on and 
church authorities had to heed. Tyndale’s Bible 
was completed in course of time and Coverdale’s 
followed, which was the first complete Bible in 
English, but was translated from the Latin, Ger- 
man, ete. This helped on and had some good 
points, which influenced later versions. Mean- 
time church authorities put out various editions, 
mostly revisions of the preceding. ‘‘The Great 
Bible,’’ ‘‘The Bishops’ Bible,’’? and others ap- — 
peared. The most important of these was the 
version chiefly produced at Geneva by exiles dur- 
ine Mary’s reign, and hence was called the: 
‘Geneva Bible.’’ This was published in 1560, 
and was chiefly based on Tyndale. It had notes 
which were not acceptable to the high church and 
royal feelings, and this was one of the things 
which led to the revision under King James. It 
was up to date the best version of the Bible in 
English.* 

4 Paterson Smyth (p. 122), says: “It was the first Bible that laid 
aside the old black Leites for the present Roman type. It was also 
the Apderyplin. ’ tt oui the namol of. Gt ami itev the aiit ian 


the Hebrews, and it uses italics for all words not occurring in the 
original.” 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 65 


The King James Version 


On the death of Queen Elizabeth in 1603 the 
succession to the throne of England reverted to 
the son of her rival, Mary Queen of Scots. This 
was James VI of Scotland who now became 
James I of the United Kingdom of Great Britain. 
He was a man of many peculiarities, abundant 
weaknesses and some high qualities, and was 
well hit off by Henry IV of France as ‘‘the 
wisest fool in Christendom.’’ His courage was 
little, but his conceit immense. Among other 
things he thought himself to be a great scholar 
and theologian, and not altogether without rea- 
son. On coming to the throne he found the re- 
ligious as well as the political affairs of the 
realm in great confusion among the various sects 
and parties. He called a conference in 1604 at 
Hampton Court of the chief dignitaries of the 
Church to consider the problems of the time. At 
this conference it was pointed out that one of the 
causes of the difficulties was the existence and 
circulation of a number of rival translations of 
the Bible; and it was suggested that a new or 
revised translation, prepared and issued under 
royal patronage and authority, would be a great 
achievement in itself and would go far toward 
producing unity of worship. 

Dr. Paterson Smyth says:° ‘‘There was one 
man in that assembly who looked with special 

5 How We Got Our Bible, p. 127. 


66 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


favor on the new proposal, and that man was the 
royal pedant who presided. A Bible translation 
made under his auspices would greatly add to the 
glory of his reign, besides which, to a man whose 
learning was really considerable, and who was 
specially fond of displaying it in theological mat-. 
ters, the direction of such work would be very ’ 
congenial. And if a further motive were needed, 
it was easily found in his unconcealed dislike 
to the popular Geneva Bible. The whole tone of 
its politics and theology, as exhibited in the mar- 
ginal notes, was utterly distasteful to James.’’ 
So James caught at the idea of the new transla- 
tion and proceeded to make very excellent ar- 
rangements for putting the plan into execution. 
No doubt he took counsel with others, but to a 
very large degree the credit for the methods of 
procedure goes to the king himself. Fifty-four 
scholars were selected to do the work, though but 
forty-seven names appear at the end—perhaps ~ 
some had died or ceased from active work. They 
were selected from both the High Chureh and 
the Puritan parties, and some laymen were in- 
cluded. To quote Dr. Smyth again: * ‘‘An admi- 
rable set of rules was drawn up for the instruc- 
tion of the revisers, directing amongst other 
things that the Bishops’ Bible should be used as 
a basis, and departed from only when the text 
required it; that any competent scholars might 
be consulted about special difficulties; that dif- 


6 How We Got Our Bible, p. 129. 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISE 67 


ferences of opinion should be settled at a gen- 
eral meeting; that divisions of chapters should 
be as little changed as possible, and marginal 
references should be given from one scripture 
to another; and last, but by no means least, there 
should be no marginal notes, except for the ex- 
planation of Hebrew and Greek words.’’ 

The revisers were divided into six working 
groups, two meeting at Westminster, two at Ox- 
ford, and two at Cambridge. Each group had its 
assigned portion, and when all was ready two 
members of each group were appointed as a final 
committee to go over the whole, bring it into 
harmony and prepare it for the press. It took 
about six years to complete the great task, and 
the work was carefully and ably done. The ver- 
sion was published in one folio volume in 1611. 
The still familiar title page described it as ‘‘The 
Holy Bible, containing the Old and New Testa- 
ments: translated out of the original tongues; 
and with the former translations diligently com- 
pared and revised, by His Majesty’s special com- 
mand.’’ To this was added: ‘‘Appointed to be 
read in churches.’’ To this title and not any 
law or order is probably due the fact that it 
came to be called The Authorized Version. Muir 
puts the case thus:’ ‘‘Matthew’s Bible of 1537 
was licensed by the King, and the Great Bible 
was specially sanctioned by proclamation. The 
Bishops’ Bible was duly approved by Convoca- 


7 Our Grand Old Bible, p. 139. 


68 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


tion; and, as the legal successor of the Great 
Bible, inherited its royal authority. The version 
of 1611, however, although it was begun and car- 
ried through with the hearty benediction of King 
James, seems never to have obtained any other 
authorization than that of public appreciation; 
that of the favor of scholars and people alike. 
The King’s connection with the inauguration of 
the movement in 1604; the Dedication which it 
has always borne on the forefront; the statement 
on the title page that it is appointed to be read 
in churches; even the fact that it could be printed 
only by permission of the Crown—all helped to 
confirm the belief of many that in some literal 
and distinctive fashion it was made the Author- 
ized Version. But difficult as it is to prove a 
negative, and we know singularly little about 
various important aspects of this translation, it 
is practically certain that no such authorization 
was ever given.”’ 


The text of the Old Testament was that of the ° 


four available printed Hebrew Bibles of the 
time; and of the New Testament was that of 
Theodore Beza, as he had revised those of Eras- 
mus and Stephens. It was the best that could be 
done. But the text was of course not based on 
the older manuscripts, many of which have been 
discovered since their time. Of the translation 
Dr. Price says:* ‘‘The Old Testament far sux 
passed any English translation in its faithful 


8 Ancestry, etc., p. 278 f. 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 69 


presentation of the Hebrew text, and did it ina 
simplicity of language admirably representative 
of the Elizabethan age. The New Testament is 
so chaste and expressive in language and form 
that it is even said to surpass the original Greek 
as a piece of literature.’’ This is the Bible that 
we know and love, that for more than three hun- 
dred years has been the accepted Word of God 
among those who use the English tongue in all 
parts of the world. It has passed into the litera- 
ture, thought and life of English-speaking peo- 
ples as no other book has done. ‘‘It has endeared 
itself to the hearts and lives of millions of Chris- 
tians.”’ 


. The Revised Version 


‘With all its great and conceded excellence the 
King James Version could not, in the nature of 
things, be accepted as final. At least three out- 
standing and sufficient reasons imperatively de- 
manded a revision: (1) The text, especially of 
the New Testament, and to some extent of the 
Old Testament, needed thorough revision in the 
light of the new knowledge from older and bet- 
ter manuscripts and the development of the 
science of textual criticism. Not one of the four 
great uncial manuscripts—s A B C—had been 
brought to light when the King James Version 
was made. And besides these ancient copies 
many others have been found and used in order 


70 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


to get a more ancient and accurate text than was 
possible to the scholars who prepared that ver- 
sion. (2) The King James translators were not 
infallible, and some errors or infelicities in trans- 
lation called for correction. (3) The English 
language since 1611 had undergone many changes, 
and some words and phrases in the King James 
Version were no longer in use or had so altered 
in Meaning as to convey the wrong sense. Hence 
there grew up throughout the English-speaking 
world among students and lovers of the Bible a 
strong feeling that amounted to a conviction that 
in the interest of a better understanding of the 
Word of God there should be a revision of the 
Authorized Version which should appeal not only 
to scholars but to the millions of readers of the 
Bible in English. 

The story of how this sentiment came to frui- 
tion in the Revised Version in England and in 
the American Standard Version in the United 
States is a great and worthy one.® Only the out- . 
lines can be given here. On February 10, 1870, 
at a meeting of the Convocation of Canterbury 
of the Church of England Bishop Wilberforce 
of Winchester moved that a revision of the 
New Testament be undertaken by joint action of 
the two Convocations (Canterbury and York). 
Amendment was made to include the Old Testa- 


9See the Prefaces to The Revised New Testament (1881), The 
Completed Bible (1885), and The American Standard Edition (1901) ; 
Paterson Smyth, How We Got Our Bible, pp. 133 ff.; and best of 
all Price, Ancestry, etc., Ch. XXX, p. 283 ff. ; Muir, Our Grand Old © 
Bible, p. 201 ff. 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 71 


ment. Thus, as was fitting, the Church of Eng- 
land took the lead. The Committee of Revision 
was later appointed and authorized to secure the 
cooperation of scholars from other religious 
bodies. This was done and fifty-four (just as 
for the King James Version) were selected. 
They were also authorized to invite the codpera- 
tion of American scholars. So in each country — 
there were appointed committees on the Old Tes- 
tament and on the New Testament. They worked 
long and faithfully, and finally in May, 1881, the 
Revised New Testament appeared in England. 
It had enormous sale in both countries. In 1885 
the Old Testament was completed, and the whole 
Bible published. Well says Professor Price: *° 
‘‘The Revised Version was produced by the 
hearty cooperation and skill of about seventy- 
five of the leading Biblical scholars of Great 
Britain and America, who represented the most 
prominent religious bodies of the two great Eng- 
lish-speaking countries. The age of the Author- 
ized Version, its antiquated language, and its 
recognized defects of several kinds, were some 
of the reasons for the production of a modern 
version of the Bible. Thus the sentiment and 
scholarship of the age demanded a revision, and 
the best critical and exegetical scholarship of the 
times produced it.’’ 

The cooperation of the American committees 
was very important and helpful, but it was nat- 


10 Ancestry, etc., p. 296. 


72 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


ural that there was much difference of opinion. 
Many changes advocated by the Americans were 
unacceptable to the British revisers. By agree- 
ment a number of these were printed as an ap- 
pendix. It was further agreed that the Ameri- 
cans would back the English revision and refrain 
from publishing an edition of their own for four- 
teen years. The English committees disbanded, 
but the American Committee maintained its or- 
ganization, and at the end of the allotted time 
(1901) put out the American Standard Version 
through the great Bible House of Thomas Nelson 
and Sons of New York. This not only included 
the original American preferences, but revised 
and enlarged them to great advantage. The re- 
sult is the best all-around English translation in 
existence. Professor Price thus sums up:* ‘‘The 
Standard American Edition of the Revised Ver- 
sion, authorized by the American Committee of 
Revision, was published August 26, 1901, by 
Thomas Nelson and Sons of New York City. It 
embodies the ripest scholarship of Great Britain 
and America (1881-1885), fully revised and cor- 
rected (1901) to suit it to the demands and re- 
quirements of American Bible students and. 
readers. As it now stands it is the most perfect 
English Bible in existence, and will be the stand- 
ard version for English readers for decades to 
come.”’ | 
11 Ancestry, etc., p. 304. 


THE BIBLE IN ENGLISH 73 


Other Versions in English 


Individuals or groups here and there have 
made other versions of the Scripture into Eng- 
lish. Some of these have been of the Old Testa- 
ment or parts or books of the Old Testament, but 
naturally they are chiefly of the New Testament. 
Of these several are worthy of special mention. 

The Bible Union Version of the New Testament 
is part of the great work of Bible Revision under- 
taken by the American Bible Union (Baptist) 
about the middle of the nineteenth century. Va- 
rious books were issued from time to time. The 
American Baptist Publication Society brought 
out a final edition of this New Testament as 
revised by Drs. Hovey, Broadus, and Weston. It 
is a faithful, almost literal, translation. 

The Twentieth Century New Testament also is 
a translation directly from the best critical text. 
It is clear and suggestive; but takes many lib- 
erties in paraphrasing and interpreting, and on 
the whole is too modern; not always dignified. 
It was issued anonymously and tentatively. Still 
it has some value. 

A New Translation of the New Testament, by 
James Moffat, is enjoying considerable vogue at 
present and is helpful as a reference. But it also 
takes too many liberties both with text and mean- 
ing. It helps, but is not always safe. 

The New Testament m Modern Speech, by 
R. F. Weymouth, is better than the two preced- 


74 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


ing. It is up to date as to text and language, 
more scholarly than the Twentieth Century, and 
safer than Moffatt. It is really an excellent ver- 
sion and will be found very helpful for compara- 
tive use. 

Another recent version is The New Testament, 
An American Translation, by Prof. Edgar J. 
Goodspeed, of the University of Chicago. Like 
those of Moffatt and Weymouth this is a schol- 
arly and careful translation, based on the best 
text and adapted to modern speech, especially the 
English as we Americans use it. But it also re- 
flects the personal preferences of the translator, 
showing some liberties taken with both text and 
language. But on the whole it compares favor- 
ably with the others, and has some excellencies 
of its own. 

Still another new translation is The Riverine 
New Testament, by Dr. William G. Ballantine, 
formerly of Oberlin Seminary and Oberlin Col- 
lege. The translation is faithful and closer to 
the original text than the others mentioned. It 
is printed in very attractive and readable form. 

All these translations are helpful as refer- 
ences, but none equals the American Standard 
Version for steady use. 


CHAPTER V 
CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 





CHAPTER V 
CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 


Having studied the interesting processes by 
which the Bible has come down to us in the noble 
form with which we are most familiar, it may 
be helpful at this point to make a brief general 
survey of our priceless heritage. Let us joyously 
accept it as a_treasure and rejoice in its posses- 
sion. Let us leave disputed questions, whether 
critical or doctrinal, and simply refresh our 
memories as to what we have in this very re- 
markable collection of sixty-six ancient writings 
of vastly differing date and authorship. There 
is nothing new to say on a topic that has been 
threshed out again and again from every possi- 
ble point of view, and on the details of which 
critical and doctrinal opinions widely differ. It 
seems only fair and candid to say that without 
argument this treatise assumes the point of view 
of the conservative, evangelical group of scholars, 
and from that standpoint the following review 
is made. The writer makes no claim to expert 
scholarship, but he has given for a lifetime some 
attention to the studies and results of Bible 
learning. The simple task attempted here is to 


put before others, who also are not technical 
77 


78 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


scholars, a condensed descriptive account of the 
contents and character of the Bible as a whole. 


The Old Testament 


This name has been given to that collection of 
thirty-nine books originally written in Hebrew 
which the Jews accepted as their divinely given 
and sacred Scriptures. They came to be col- 
lectively referred to as the Scriptures or Writ- 
ings. Our Lord so speaks of them in several 
places, sometimes in the singular and sometimes 
in the plural. (Matt. 21:42; Mark 14:49; John 
5:39; 7:38; 10:35.) Paul also uses this term 
quite frequently. (See Romans 1:2; 4:3; 1 Cor. 
15:3, 4; 2 Tim. 3:15.) In 2 Corinthians 3:14 
Paul speaks of the Scriptures collectively as ‘‘the 
old covenant,’’? and in verse six he has already 
spoken of the Christian dispensation as a ‘‘new 
covenant.’?’ We have here no doubt the origin 
of the names ‘‘Old Testament’’ and ‘‘New Tes- 
tament,’’ as descriptive of the two groups of 
sacred writings. The word in Hebrew is b’rith, 
a covenant, which is usually translated into the 
Greek diatheké, and into the Latin testamentum. 
In both the Greek and Latin terms the idea of 
a will sometimes appears, and this is made the 
basis of an argument in Hebrews 9:15-20. But 
the more usual meaning is that of a covenant 
granted or imposed by God himself, only ac- 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 79 


cepted and entered into by the human receivers 
of it. By a very natural turn of thought the 
books, or collections of books, which contain this 
covenant (or gracious promise of God) came 
itself to be called ‘‘the covenant.’’ Following 
Paul’s usage the ancient scriptures were there- 
fore the Old Covenant, and after him when the 
Christian scriptures came also to be accepted as 
divinely given, they were called the New Cove- 
nant. This usage, it appears, goes back at least 
as far as the second century. With regard to the 
name, Bishop Westcott says:* ‘‘The establish- 
ment of Christianity gave at once a distinct unity 
to the former dispensation, and thus St. Paul 
could speak of the Jewish Scriptures by the 
name which they have always retained since, as 
‘the Old Testament’ or ‘covenant’ (2 Cor. 3:14). 
. .. At the close of the second century the terms 
‘Old’ and ‘New Testament’ were already in com- 
mon use.’’ In discussing the various terms Mas- 
sie in Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (Vol. 
IV, page 721), says: ‘‘Finally, as a consequence, 
testamentum became the title of the documents 
containing the attested promises of blessings 
used by God and bequeathed to us in the death 
of Christ.’’ | 

The division of the writings of the Old Testa- 
ment into thirty-nine books, and the names given 
to them, is largely the work of the Hebrew edi- 


1As quoted by Dr. James Orr, The Problem of the Old Testament, 
p. 3, note. 


80 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


tors and scribes at various dates. In most cases 
the books are distinct either by authorship or by 
character and contents, but in a few cases this 
does not hold. For example, the four books of 
1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings really consti- 
tute one treatise. So also the two books of 
Chronicles are not sharply cr clearly  distin- 
guished. ‘There are other cases where the divi- 
sions made by the Hebrew editors are open to 
some question. But there is no good reason to 
disturb the now generally accepted arrangement 
either in the interest of critical theory or of edi- 
torial sense of propriety. 

The grouping of the thirty-nine writings of the 
Old Testament as we have it in our Bibles is dif- 
ferent from that of the Hebrew writers. In the 
Hebrew Bibles as now printed the books are ar- 
ranged in four groups: (1) The Law, or Penta- 
teuch, or Five Books of Moses; (2) The Earlier 
Prophets, Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and > 
2 Kings; (3) The Later Prophets, Isaiah, Jere- 
miah, Ezekiel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, 
Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, 
Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi; (4) The Writ- 
ings (or in their Greek term Hagiographa), 
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ruth, 
Lamentations, Kcclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, 
Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles. It will be seen at 
once that this arrangement is arbitrary. It does — 
not follow a natural grouping or historical sge- 
quence. It has therefore been wisely abandoned 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 81 


by accepted usage. The arrangement with which 
we are familiar grew into gradual use after the 
Christian era. On the whole it is a better ar- 
rangement than that of the Hebrew editors. But 
it has no divine authority and might be improved 
in some particulars; but, as has been:said, there 
does not appear to be sufficient reason for 
changing. 

As we have it, therefore, the first group is 
the Pentateuch (a Greek word meaning ‘‘five 
books’’), and including Genesis, Exodus, Leviti- 
cus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. This preserves the 
ancient arrangement, giving us the five books 
commonly attributed to Moses as author or 
editor, collectively called by the Hebrews ‘‘The 
Torah,’’ or Law. The names of the books are 
Greek, and were given by the translators of the 
Septuagint or by common consent among the 
Jews of the Dispersion. The Hebrew names 
were taken from the first words of the books. 
Thus Genesis is known among the Hebrews as 
B’reshith, ‘‘In the Beginning’’; Exodus is called 
We-elleh-shemoth, ‘‘And these are the names,’’ 
and so on. Genesis is the Greek word for origin 
or birth; Exodus means ‘‘a way out’? or ‘‘depar- 
ture’’; Leviticus.is a Greek word formed from 
the Hebrew name Levi, because it deals much 
with duties of the Levites; Numbers (in Greek 
Arithmoi) is so named because of the number- 
ings of the people; Deuteronomy comes from two 
Greek words ‘‘second’’ and ‘‘law,’’ and is so 


$2 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


called because it repeats a good deal of the law 
as previously given. 

As to the contents of the Pentateuch, Genesis 
gives an account of the origin of man and of the 
Semitie stock of Abraham and his descendants, 
and the beginnings of the sojourn in Hgypt. It 
contains also some poetry, but not much. The 
main topic of Exodus is the story of the escape 
of the Israelites from Egypt and the giving of 
the Law at Sinai together with some accounts 
of the wanderings in the desert. Leviticus is 
almost wholly taken up with the ceremonial law 
prescribing many details of the worship of God 
to be observed by the Hebrews. In Numbers 
laws are also given, but there are interesting 
accounts of events in the history. Deuteronomy 
consists chiefly of addresses given by Moses on 
the eve of the entrance into Canaan, rehearsing 
much of what had previously been given. 

The next great group is that which we call the 
Historical Books, containing Joshua, Judges, 
Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther. In 
these books the history of Israel is described 
from the invasion of Canaan under Joshua to the 
return of the Jews from captivity, and the re- 
newal of their commonwealth in the Promised 
Land. This great group of historical books 
shows how God dealt with his chosen people in 
making them the medium of his revelation of 
himself to all mankind. . 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 83 


Next we have the Poetical Books, Job, the 
Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and the Song of 
Songs; and to this ought to be added the book 
of Lamentations, which is really poetry. Dra- 
matic poetry is represented by Job and the Song 
of Songs. Lyric poetry of the highest order is 
found in the Psalms. Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, 
though mostly in poetic form, are philosophic and 
practical in tone, and are sometimes described as 
‘‘wisdom literature.’’ Among these poetic books 
the Psalms occupy a preeminent position. They | 
have been considered by competent critics as the 
highest expression of lyric poetry in all litera- 
ture. The religious feelings, aspirations, and re- 
flections of the human soul find abundant and 
varied expression in these inspired poems. They 
have fed and guided the religious life of many 
generations. They are of varied date and au- 
thorship, but many of them undoubtedly came 
from the great soul of David, the king of Israel. 

There remains the great group of the Prophets, 
from Isaiah to Malachi. It is customary to divide 
these into the Greater and the Minor Prophets, 
the former term applying to Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
Ezekiel, and Daniel. The first two belong to the 
period of Israel’s later kings, and point to the 
approaching downfall of the kingdom of Judah 
and to the return of the people from captivity. 
The latter two belong to the period of the cap- 
tivity, but point beyond that to the glories of 
God’s kingdom through his people in the cen- 


84 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


turies following the restoration of the Jewish 
State at Jerusalem. 

The twelve Minor Prophets, from Hosea to 
Malachi, are so called not by way of disparage- 
ment, but because of their brevity, and relatively 
to the four Greater Prophets. Amos and Hosea 
belong to the latter times of the Northern King- 
dom. Haggai and Zechariah are of the time of 
the Return. The others touch various dates and 
epochs. The last, Malachi (‘‘my messenger’’) 
points to the coming of a new time to be heralded. 
by a special messenger. These great writings 
deal with various phases of the religious life of 
the chosen people and point forward to the larger 
fulfillment of God’s promises in the coming of a 
new dispensation. 


The New Testament 


For about four hundred years the voice of 
prophecy was silent in Israel. But the history 
of the Jews went on in its two great divisions of | 
the people in Palestine and the Dispersion; that | 
is, those who were scattered abroad throughout 
the nations. During the interval of about four 
hundred years between the closing prophecy of 
Malachi and the coming of John the Baptist to 
herald the Messiah some writings were produced 
by the Jews, but they have not been accepted as 
a part of the inspired revelation of God, though 
a few of them relate events of great importance 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 85 


and some of them give a good deal of devotional 
thought and teaching. Many of these books have 
been grouped as forming the so-called Apocrypha. 
They are sometimes printed in the Bible, but for 
various reasons which cannot here be dealt with 
at length they have not obtained a place among 
those writings regarded as inspired by the gen- 
eral opinion of Christians. Many of these apoc- 
_ryphal books, however, are full of interest and 
value for the Christian student, and they should 
not be overlooked by those who wish to keep in 
touch with the history and thought of Israel dur- 
ing the interval between the Old and New Testa- 
ments. 

As we have remarked before, the sacred books 
of Israel came to be called collectively the Old 
Covenant, or Testament. And this term pre- 
pared the way for giving the title of New Cove- 
nant, or Testament, to the group of distinctively 
Christian writings which make up the second part 
of our Bible. In the New Testament we have 
twenty-seven separate writings, and these fall 
naturally into two general groups, historical and 
epistolary, with one only that is prophetical. 
The historical group contains the four Gospels, 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Book of 
Acts. Of the Epistles or Letters thirteen were 
written by the Apostle Paul, three by John, two 
by Peter, one by James, and one by Jude. The 
remaining one, Hebrews, does not reveal its 
author, and he remains unknown, though there 


86 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


have been many theories as to the authorship. 
The book of Revelation, also called the Apoca- 
lypse (unveiling) is in a class to itself, though 
addressed as an Epistle to seven of the churches 
of Asia Minor. 

The four Gospels give a record of the life and 
teachings of our Lord. The first three are much 
like each other, and as each one presents a 
synopsis, or connected account in brief form, of 
much of the life and teachings of Christ they 
have been called the Synoptic Gospels. 

Their relation to each other has been and re- 
mains a question much debated among scholars. 
Matthew has been by many supposed to be the 
original Gospel and to have been written in the 
Aramaic dialect and translated into Greek. But 
this is by no means certain. Other scholars con- 
sider Mark to be the original Gospel, and in ac- 
cordance with tradition to have been derived 
from the narrative of Peter. Luke tells us in his 
preface (Luke 1:1-5) that he had personally 
gathered the material for his Gospel from orig- , 
inal sources. His Gospel included much that is 
given in Matthew and Mark, but a good deal that 
is not found elsewhere. Matthew presents the 
life and teachings of Jesus as the fulfillment of 
prophecy, and makes its appeal largely to Jewish 
believers; while Mark and Luke seem to have 
been written chiefly with the Gentiles in mind. 
Luke, almost certainly, was himself a Gentile 
and his Gospel shows some traces of that and 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 87 


also of his profession as a physician. The Gospel 
of John, written probably much later than the 
others, presents the view of that great Apostle 
concerning the person and teaching of his be- 
loved Lord. It does not present as much nar- 
rative as the others, but deals largely with the 
teachings of the Master. It bears the imprint 
of a devout and reflective soul. 

The Book of Acts, also written by Luke, as 
shown in its opening words, did not get its title 
from the author. We do not know what he 
called it, if anything. But the traditional title is 
not a very accurate description of the book. It 
deals briefly with the main events in the history 
of the church at Jerusalem, and then with the 
spread of Christianity from Jerusalem as a start- 
ing point, giving most of its narrative to an ac- 
count of the conversion and ministry and im- 
prisonment of the great Apostle Paul. It ends 
abruptly, and does not give a full account even 
of Paul’s work. 

Much of the literature of ancient times has 
come down to us in the form of letters. In ac- 
cordance with that custom we have a large group 
of the New Testament writings in this form. 
The largest number are those written or dictated 
by the great Apostle Paul. There are thirteen 
of these. The first written were the two to the 
church at Thessalonica which had been founded 
in trouble on Paul’s second missionary journey, 
as related in the Acts. After these comes a great 


88 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


group of four: Galatians, 1 and 2 Corinthians, 
and Romans. The dates of these are not posi- 
tive, but they are generally supposed to have 
been written during the third missionary journey. 
Galatians was addressed to a group of churches 
in a region that has not been positively identi- 
fied, but is now by many held to be that covered 
in the first and in the early part of the second 
missionary journey. This letter sets forth a 
characteristic discussion of the doctrine of justi- 
fication by faith, as Paul held it; but it burns 
with the author’s intense personal interest both 
in the subject and the readers. The two Letters 
to the church at Corinth deal largely with teach- 
ing the Christian faith to a crude and somewhat 
varied body of church members at the great Gre- 
cian city. The Letter to the church at Rome was 
probably written from Corinth and is generally 
conceded to be the greatest of Paul’s writings. 
It deals with the great doctrine of salvation by 
faith, and with the duties which grow out of the 
soul’s new relation to God in Christ. Like Paul’s 
other letters it has an intense and appealing per- ~ 
sonal strain which gives it vitality and human 
interest. As the inspired writer and interpreter 
of God’s thoughts Paul reaches his greatest 
height in this wonderful letter. 

Another group of Paul’s letters is that called 
the Epistles of the Captivity, consisting of 
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Phile- 
mon. These are held to have been written while 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 89 


Paul was a captive in Rome after his voyage 
described in the latter part of Acts. Their lan- 
guage fits in well with that view. They deal both 
with doctrinal and practical subjects essential to 
the Christian revelation. They present Christ 
as the Lord and Saviour of men, and the high 
principles of human conduct growing out of the 
believer’s relation to him. A fourth group of 
Paul’s writings is known as the Pastoral Hpis- 
tles, consisting of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. 
Here we have a difficulty as to the time of author- 
ship. It seems probable that 1 Timothy and 
Titus were written during the first imprisonment 
and toward its close, but that 2 Timothy was 
written later, after Paul’s probable release and 
reimprisonment. This last letter is intensely 
personal and appealing. It speaks of the Apos- 
tle’s past sufferings and expected end. All three 
of these letters give counsel and instruction to 
younger ministers of the Word, and are a treas- 
ure house of Christian thought and practice for 
all time. 

Just here should be mentioned the Epistle to 
the Hebrews. It is the one New Testament book 
of which the author is unknown. Theories have 
been offered and defended suggesting that it was 
written by Paul or Luke or Apollos or Barnabas. 
It does not itself state its author nor give itself 
a title. It does not tell to what group of Chris- 
tians it was addressed. All these things have 
been matters of debate. The title, ‘‘To the He- 


90 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


brews,’’ was given to it very early in Christian 
history, but most probably not by the author him- 
self. It is an eloquent and profound discussion 
of the priesthood of Jesus Christ as compared 
with the priesthood of the old dispensation. It 
is an eloquent and thoughtful discourse and con- 
tains profound discussions of doctrine and duty. 

The group of General Epistles, so called be- 
cause not directed to particular churches or in- 
dividuals (except 1 and 2 John), consists of those 
of James, Peter, John, and Jude. Hach has its 
striking individuality, but all present the Saviour- 
hood and authority of Jesus the Lord, and the 
Christian life and conduct which come from faith 
in him. There is trace of prophecy in Peter and 
in Jude. James presents the practical side, the 
fruit of faith in life. Peter deals with the Mes- 
siahship of Jesus and the conduct of the saints. — 
Jude exhorts to loyalty and to expectation of 
God’s future dealing with the world. John, as 
the Apostle of Love, deals with that great theme, 
beautifully illustrated in the two short epistles to 
Gaius and to ‘‘the elect lady.’’ In the First 
Epistle he presents from various points of view 
the blessed experience of love as a divine attri- 
bute and a Christian grace. 

The New Testament closes with the wonderful 
and difficult book called The Revelation, or Apoca- 
lypse. We cannot here go into the difficulties of 
interpretation of that great book. It was given 
in the form of visions to John while an exile in 


CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE 91 


the Island of Patmos. The first three chapters 
are in the form of a letter to the seven churches 
of Asia Minor, while the rest of the book pre- 
sents a marvelous series of visions. These pre- 
sent the conflict and triumph of Christianity. 
Some of them seem to deal with current history, 
and some point to the far future. Admitting the 
difficulties of interpretation, two great ideas stand 
forth in the book, namely Tribulation and Tri- 
umph. God’s churches, God’s people, will suffer, 
but in the end the cause and kingdom of our Lord 
shall triumph over all opponents and enemies 
and the redeemed of the Lord shall be saved with 
an everlasting and glorious salvation. 


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READING AND STUDYING THE 
BIBLE 





CHAPTER VI 
READING AND STUDYING THE BIBLE 


For reading and studying the Word of God we 
are greatly blest in having two great Versions in 
our own tongue: The King James Version and 
the American Standard Version. We may and 
should use other translations also, for variety 
and for help to a better understanding of the 
Word, but our chief use will be of one or both 
of the two versions named. Their relative use 
will naturally be determined by personal prefer- 
ences and other considerations; but no intelligent 
lover and reader of the Bible ought to confine his 
reading to either one of the two great versions. 
Hiven if because of its beauty and dignity of 
style, and because of sentimental associations 
and preferences, one should continue to use 
mainly the dear old Authorized Version, he 
should always remember that the American 
Standard Version, both in text and language, is 
much nearer to the inspired original Scripture 
than is the older translation. For this reason 
it should always be at hand for reference and 
comparison, especially on difficult passages. On 
the other hand if one habitually uses the Revised 


Version he should often turn to the older book 
95 


96 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


for the delight and help of its literary and spir- 
itual quality. 


Reading the Bible 


While it is probably true that the Bible is read 
more than any other one book or collection of 
books in the world, it is of course not true that 
it is read as much as all other literature, or read 
nearly as much or as well as it ought to be. 
There are great and evident reasons why the 
Bible should be read, and read far more fre- 
quently and fruitfully than it is read. 

In general it may be said that as a matter of 
information and culture the reading of the Bible 
is important, not to say imperative. Ignorance 
of the Bible even among the so-called educated 
classes is surprising, even appalling. Instances 
are often quoted as amusing. But they are also 
serious. Such cases of ridiculous and deplorable ~ 
ignorance can of course be matched in other 
quarters, but they are none the less distressing 
and inexcusable in regard to the Bible. It is too, 
much a part of the life and literature of the 
world for even an ordinarily intelligent person 
to leave out of his reading. 

More particularly is the reading of the Bible 
a preeminent Christian duty and privilege. This 
grows out of the belief that the Bible is the true 
and only revelation of God, and contains the 
essentials of faith and duty for all time. There 


READING AND STUDYING THE BIBLE 97 


is no need here of argument, but there 7s need of 
exhortation. It is strange and sad to know that 
many who readily admit the force of the argu- 
ment yet neglect the practice of reading the Word 
of God. It is like the neglect of any other ob- 
vious and admitted duty. We should not cease 
_to practice it ourselves and urge it upon others. 

For personally the reading of the Bible is in- 
deed ‘‘a means of grace.’’ It is impossible to 
exhaust or exaggerate its spiritual benefits to the 
devout and intelligent reader. The experience 
and testimony of the saints on this point flow in 
ever-increasing volume through the ages. The 
happy good man of the first Psalm delighted to 
meditate day and night on God’s law, the inspired 
poet of the nineteenth Psalm declared that law 
was perfect, ‘‘converting the soul’’ and richly 
bringing other precious fruits, while in the one 
hundred and nineteenth Psalm—the longest of all 
—the author’s pious appreciation of the Word 
of God breathes in nearly every verse. Jesus 
loved the Scriptures and shows both his knowl- 
edge and his evaluation of them in many of his 
sayings. But why go on? Everybody knows 
that personal piety is fed by reading the Bible . 
and starved by its neglect. It becomes then a 
question of practice, of habit, and of method. 
How may we read the Bible to the best advan- 
tage? At once the answer is, Variously, of 
course. No one method should become ironclad, 
but the practice should be habitual and as far as 


98 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


possible regular. Naturally each one will work 
out his own methods, and yet a few hints or sug- 
gestions may be of some value. 

There is what may be called the occasional, 
casual, scrappy way of reading the Bible.. This 
is as the mood, or suggestion, or impulse may 
direct—much as we ‘‘drop into’’ other books or 
writings. This has its value, and should be prac- 
ticed, but can never suffice as the only way. 

Then there is the regular, systematic way. The 
reader has a time for Bible reading, and it is 
sacredly kept. There is a plan, for daily read- 
ings or through the year, covering sometimes 
parts and sometimes the whole of the Bible. It 
is desirable that each reader should draw up and 
follow his own plan, changing it occasionally, so 
as to avoid falling into a rut. The important 
thing is that there should be a plan, and that it? 
should be conscientiously observed.* «— 

Lastly, there is what may be called the special, 
intensive way. This will embrace a variety of 
methods. Sometimes it will be by books—..e., 
taking a special book at a time, some of them at. 
a sitting, the longer ones in parts, without regard 
to their order in the Bible. Sometimes it will 
be by subjects, with the aid of the concordance, 
or one of the valuable analyzed Bibles. Some- 
times it may be by groups of books, as the Pen- 
tateuch, the Psalms, the Gospels in a good Har- 

1 The Daily em Readings of the Sunday-school lessons, or those of 


the B. Y. P. U. may be followed. Dr. Hight C. Moore has arranged 
a very useful little guide called Through the Bible in a Year. 


READING AND STUDYING THE BIBLE 99 


mony, or Paul’s Letters grouped in chronological 
order. Other ways may suggest themselves, or 
be learned from each other.? 


Studying the Bible 


Intensive reading easily passes into careful 
study, with more attention to detail and the use 
of helps to fuller and clearer knowledge than is 
likely to come from mere reading, however 
thoughtful. But rather here we have in mind the 
study of the Bible by specialists of various de- 
erees and kinds, as preachers, writers on reli- 
gious and moral subjects, teachers and students 
in seminaries and colleges, in Sunday schools, 
young people’s societies, institutes, and various 
other groups or persons whose particular object 
is to study and not merely to read the Word of 
God. . 

The first and most obvious thing to say is that 
study should begin with and be always based on 
the text of the Bible itself. There is real danger 
of being led into study of books about the Bible 
rather than of the Word itself. If possible the 
original languages should be learned and used, 
if not alone at least in connection with the two 
great English Versions, and others. The study 
would follow somewhat the lines laid down for 
intensive reading: (1) The Bible (or at least the 
New Testament) as a whole; or (2) books or 


2 Moulton’s Modern Readers’ Bible has helped many. 


100 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


parts of the Bible as may be selected; or (3) sub- 
jects or special topics as occasion or preference 
may decide. 

The next best thing to say is that of course the 
best available helps for Bible study should be 
obtained and properly used. There is of these a 
vast multitude of all conceivable sorts. Beware 
of being bewildered or suffocated. Seek advice 
as to the best. A few wholesome dishes are bet- 
_ ter than a surfeit of rich and varied food. By 
all means a good Bible Dictionary and Concord- 
ance, Maps, a Harmony of the Gospels, some gen- 
eral survey of the history and literature of both 
Testaments should be at hand. As to commen- 
taries seek advice from those who know, and 
‘‘oet the best’? both general and on particular 
books. The Sunday School Lesson Helps nat- 
urally and properly are widely used—they should 
also be wisely used. | , 

We must think of the purpose in view in our 
study of the Word. This will naturally deter- 
mine the character of the study. It may be for 
our own personal devotional and cultural benefit, | 
and this is well. It may be literary—the writing 
of articles or books on Biblical and practical 
themes. It may be for preaching, lecturing, 
teaching, as our calling and opportunities may 
demand. 

In conclusion a few words need to be said as 
to the spirit in which our reading and study of 
the Bible should be done. The keywords are in- 


READING AND STUDYING THE BIBLE 101 


telligence, confidence and reverence. The nature, 
claims and contents of the Bible are such as to 
demand these in its readers and students. 

The highest intellectual powers and resources 
are demanded and should be exercised in the 
reading and study of the Word of God. To find 
and expound the meaning of the Word, to think 
upon its problems and truths, to feel the impact 
and drive of its powerful statements and of the 
wide and fruitful inferences and suggestions 
which come from these, is a lofty and worthy 
employment of the intellect at its best. Litera- 
ture and life alike bear testimony to the truth of 
this statement. Surely if there is any book or 
collection of books in the world which requires, 
justifies and rewards the best work of the mind 
at its best, that book is the Bible. 

We should read and study the Word with a 
reasoned and calm confidence. It is entitled to 
such confidence. Its claims are great, but its 
character sustains them. To read the Bible half 
doubting it will not bring the best results. To 
let our study degenerate into criticism and flaw- 
picking is all wrong. It is true the Bible has 
been and continues to be assailed from every 
quarter. The sharpest ingenuity of unbelief has 
sought to destroy confidence in the truth and 
value of its teachings. But it has withstood 
these assaults in every age and remains still the 
surest moral and religious guide of mankind. 
This does not mean that every difficulty has been 


102 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


satisfactorily explained, that all questions have 
been answered, that no room for difference of 
opinion remains even among the most conserva- 
tive believers in the Bible as a divine book. But 
it does mean that in spite of all attacks from 
doubting or even hostile criticism the Bible to- 
day, in the light of all human knowledge, scien- 
tific and historical and other, holds the field as 
a true and faithful witness to the things of God 
as made known to man. This is the joyous con- 
viction of thousands of intelligent and thought- 
ful men and women who are as capable of weigh- 
ing evidence as are the opposing critics, and are 
as incapable of mental dishonesty as any of 
these could be. 

It remains to be said that we should study the 
Bible with reverence. There is a difference be- 
tween it and other books. It is God’s Word. 
We have too much emphasized the social formula 
that there is no ultimate distinction between the 
sacred and the secular. We have made sacred 
things too secular. We treat all religious things 
with too much flippancy and irreverence. And . 
the Bible has not escaped. We too often use its 
language in jest and esteem too lightly its most 
solemn and awful statements. But this should 
not be. The Bible is a serious book and brings 
a serious message. Certainly it is not to be 
made an object of superstitious and idolatrous — 
veneration, but it ought to be read and studied 
in the pure light of what it is—the Word of God. 


CuarptTer VII 


TEACHING THE BIBLE IN 
SUNDAY SCHOOL 


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CHAPTER VII 
TEACHING THE BIBLE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL 


We have traced briefly the wonderful way in 
which we have received the sixty-six writings of 
the Bible as a ‘‘goodly heritage’’ from the past. 
Its production, preservation, translation have 
each engaged our thought in turn; and we have 
also considered how we may to the best advan- 
tage read and study this inspired message of 
God. So we are naturally brought to the subject 
of this chapter—Teaching the Bible in the Sun- 
day School. About the first thing we think of in 
connection with the subject is the vastness of it. 
It is wonderful to think what an extensive and 
varied interest this is. And not the least striking 
thing is the immense literature which it has pro- 
duced. Thousands upon thousands of books have 
been written about the many phases of the gen- 
eral subject, and volumes continue to be poured 
forth from the press in an unchecked stream. If 
this generation does not learn how to teach the 
Bible in Sunday school it will certainly not be 
for lack of being told! Besides the literature 
there are the assemblies, the institutes, the col- 
lege work, the classes for teacher training and 


other agencies devoted to this great end. There 
105 


106 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


is nothing new to say, but there is much to say. 
Consider the fact, the problem, the opportunity. 


The Fact 


The teaching of the Bible in the Sunday 
schools throughout the world is one of the great- 
est and most impressive facts of modern Chris- 
tian life and activity. Think of holding a 
World’s Sunday School Convention in Tokyo, 
Japan, in 1920! Historically the teaching of the 
Word of God goes back to the beginning of the 
Word itself. In Deuteronomy. 6:1-9 Jehovah 
through Moses enjoined the perpetual teaching 
of the Law; there is frequent reference to such 
teaching in the Psalms and other literature of 
Israel; and a vivid account of the renewal of 
teaching after the Captivity in Nehemiah 8:1-8. 
Synagogues and teachers, scribes and lawyers 
abounded. Then came the Great Teacher, who 
commanded his ‘‘disciples’’ to ‘‘make disciples’’ 
and ‘‘teach’’ them through all time (Matthew 
28:19, 20). Paul gloried in being ‘‘a teacher of | 
the Gentiles in faith and truth.’? The long line 
of illustrious teachers runs from Origen through 
Bede and the Schoolmen to the Reformation 
which was largely a revival of teaching the Word 
of God. 

Specific Sunday-school teaching began in Eng- 
land in the latter part of the eighteenth century 
with the labors of Raikes, Fox, Gurney, and 


TEACHING THE BIBLE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL 107 


others.t. Robert Raikes, editor of a newspaper at 
Gloucester, about 1780, took up with the idea and 
practice (not original with him) of employing 
teachers to give instruction on Sundays to the 
children of the poor. They were taught to read 
and spell, but some instruction was given in the 
Catechism of the Church of England, and in 
morals. The teachers were paid. The movement 
spread and many such schools were established 
in England. About this time William Fox began 
a movement to have more strictly Bible teaching 
in these schools. The teachers were paid, but 
the funds were not enough to supply the need of 
teachers. Then came the movement for unpaid 
voluntary teaching. This movement was led by 
William Gurney about the last of the century. 
Later came the admission of adult persons as 
learners; and thus the modern Sunday school 
was brought into being. The movement spread 
to America, and at least good beginnings were 
made. Dr. Sampey says:? ‘‘Between 1810 and 
1825 in America the modern Sunday school for 
religious instruction, as we now know it, came to 
be the prevailing type of school. The purely 
religious motive gained the ascendancy. In many 
places the spelling-book was still in use, and the 
children were taught to read on the Lord’s Day; 
but the chief subject of study in most schools 
came to be the Bible, as the guide to salvation. 


1 See The International Lesson System, by John R. Sampey, D.D., 
“at ee oy ee raaa derived from this valuable treatise. 
2 Ibi 


108 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


Sunday schools were founded and maintained by 
devout Christians for the purpose of leading the 
scholars to Christ. The Catechism was still used, 
as it is to-day, as a compend of Scriptural doc- 
trine. The evangelistic note was heard in the 
opening and closing exercises, as well as in the 
teaching of the various classes. The question of 
the poor child who strayed into a Sunday school 
one day and asked, ‘Is this the way to heaven?’ 
could now be answered in the affirmative. The 
Sabbath school had become for many the way to 
heaven.’’ 

Since those early days the developments have 
been marvelous. We can neither trace the his- 
tory nor give an adequate survey of the present 
situation. But a few outstanding facts should 
be borne in mind. The Sunday school has found 
its main mission as the school of the church for 
teaching the Word of God to all who will join its 
classes. It is an established and powerful ex- 
pression and instrument of modern church life. 
In North America all the Protestant denomina- 
tions in Canada and the United States and nearly | 
all the local churches in city, town, and country > 
are fully engaged in the work. There are some 
20,000,000 people enlisted in it. Consider the or- 
ganizations that exist for its promotion—denomi- 
national and interdenominational—local, county, 
State, provincial, national, and international and 
worldwide! Consider the denominational pub- 
lishing houses with their enormous output of Iit- 


TEACHING THE BIBLE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL 109 


erature in the way of helps to Bible study and 
teaching. Remember the International Lesson 
Committee, that with many changes, has been 
engaged in the preparation of series of lessons— 
Uniform and Graded, ete. And do not forget the 
rise and growth of the Vacation and Week-day 
Schools! 


The Problem 


In general the problem of all living and active, 
powerful and progressive institutions is that of 
improvement—of maintenance, adaptation, devel- 
opment. In the great work of teaching the Bible 
in the Sunday school this problem presents three 
sides: material, personal, and literary. 

On the material side it is the problem of equip- 
ment and organization. Suitable buildings and 
rooms and appliances for teaching must be pro- 
vided according as the size and organization of 
the school requires. LEivery facility which modern 
intelligence and interest have devised for the 
better teaching in schools should be adapted and 
used in the Sunday school. Surely the Word of 
God demands as much as any subject to have the 
best educational instruments for its proper pres- 
entation. The graded Sunday school deserves as 
much as the graded day school. 

On the personal side the problem, as in all edu- 
cational institutions, is that of securing suitable 
and efficient officers and teachers. Administra- 


110 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


tion and instruction—these are the pivotal, the 
critical points. It is of the utmost importance 
that the superintendent and his associates in the 
management of the school should not only be 
competent, but wise. Of course they should be 
interested in Bible study and not merely in the 
machinery of the school. Every care should be 
taken to the one end that the teaching period 
should be suitably guarded and improved. 

But of course the main interest and the main 
problem is the teacher. Many things have been 
said and written on this ever-important matter, 
and each one will have his own way of thinking 
and expressing the necessary things. But per- 
haps the gist of it all may be compressed into 
three supremely important qualities: The teacher 
must be competent, consecrated, and trained. 
The competent teacher is one who knows and 
also knows how. Natural ability—such as intel- 
ligence, sympathy, imagination—must be sup- 
plemented by actual knowledge of the Bible and ~ 
other things, and especially of each lesson as it 
comes. ‘Then there must be skill in imparting 
knowledge. The pathos of the situation is where 
a well-informed teacher cannot impart the infor- 
mation at hand! The consecrated teacher is de- 
voted to the Lord, the pupil, and the task. The 
ideal is beautifully as well as profoundly set 
forth in the description of the great Scribe (Ezra 
7:10): ‘*Ezra had set his heart to seek the law 
of Jehovah, and to do it, and to teach in Israel 


TEACHING THE BIBLE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL 111 


statutes and ordinances.’’ Seek —do— teach! 
There is simply no way of emphasizing too much 
the importance of piety, of genuine character, of 
love to God and the scholar and the work, on the 
part of the teacher. 

These are the days of trained specialists in 
every department of human labor and enterprise. 
Vocational training, no doubt, has its taint of 
fad and cant, but it also has a basis in good sense. 
If anybody needs to be trained for efficient serv- 
ice it is the Sunday-school teacher! It is wise 
and right that much attention is given to this in 
literature and assemblies. 

The literary side of the problem is to provide, 
circulate, and wisely employ suitable helps for 
the teaching and learning of the Bible in the 
Sunday schools. Nobody can claim that the best 
has yet been done. But the progress made is 
very apparent to any who know the history and 
the facts. Helps may be broadly divided into 
books and periodicals. The former will include 
all the books on Bible study and teaching, but 
especially those which are devoted to the varied 
needs of the Sunday school to-day. As to pe- 
riodicals let the great publishing houses of the 
denominations bear witness! To make these bet- 
ter is the constant aim of the leaders in the 
work. 3 


112 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


The Opportunity 


Notwithstanding all the recognized imperfec- 
tions in equipment, method and personnel, it yet 
is true that Sunday-school instruction as we 
know it to-day is a powerful force for good, and 
offers a glorious opportunity to those who are 
engaged in it. To the pupils of all ages, from 
Primary to Adult, it brings the opportunity for 
learning the Word of God. Even in the Sunday 
school that has the poorest means of impressing 
the lesson of the day, there is usually some lit- 
erature of an expository nature and some teacher 
to guide the study. Something may be learned 
every Sunday of God’s truth and God’s will. 
The educational value, both intellectual and spir- 
itual, of this learning is incalculable. 

But we are thinking mainly of the opportunity 
afforded to the teachers of the Bible to bring its 
truths home to the minds and lives of the thou- 
sands of pupils of all ages who gather every © 
Sunday to study the appointed lesson. In the 
children’s grades the great opportunity of prepa- 
ration for conversion and activity is to the fore; - 
in the Junior, Intermediate, and Senior classes 
the time for decision puts the idea of evangelism 
and soul-winning above all else; while in the 
Adult classes, composed chiefly of church mem- 
bers, the great aims of instruction, edification, 
and service are in the lead. For the Sunday- 
school teacher of to-day the opportunity is there- 


TEACHING THE BIBLE IN SUNDAY SCHOOL 113 


fore unparalleled. To learn and teach to others 
the best and highest things; to mold character 
and guide thought; to win souls to Christ and 
build them up in the work and service of the 
Lord; to help make good citizens in the State and 
devoted members of the church—such is the task 
and the high privilege of the Sunday-school 
teacher. 

Nor should the opportunity of the church be 
forgotten. In the work of the Sunday school the 
church of to-day finds its opportunity to win and 
train its members and so provide for the con- 
tinuance and development of its own life and 
work. The Sunday school is both the recruiting 
and the training ground of the church. In it all 
that the church stands for in the Kingdom of 
God and in the world can be taught from the 
Word of God. 

The local. church, whether considered as a 
parish or as an independent and self-governing 
body of Christians is the center of worship, 
service and teaching in the Kingdom of God. 
The buildings and other appliances which the 
church employs in furtherance of its aims and 
activities are inseparably united with its organic 
life, as a body, with a spirit. The church thus 
conceived stands distinctively for religion, for 
God; as the home, the school, the bank, the store, 
represent their respective institutions and inter- 
ests. In the Sunday school, with the Bible as its 
text-book, the church has ready to its hand a 


114 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


mighty instrument for impressing and perpetuat- 
ing its three-fold ideal of worship toward God, 
salvation and service for mankind, and guidance 
and development of the spiritual life of its own 
members. Therefore every church should have a 
Sunday school, and the very best Sunday school 
it can provide and maintain. 


Cuapter VIII 
THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 





CHAPTER VIII 
THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 


The Bible is practically and effectively a mod- 
ern book. It comes down from ancient times, but 
it belongs to all times. Humanly speaking it is 
the mental and literary product of one race, but 
in a broad and true sense it is of and for all 
races. We have been thinking together of its 
divine and human origin and authorship, its mar- 
velous preservation through the ages, its transla- 
tion and distribution among all languages and 
peoples, its interpretation and application to life 
and duty, and so we have been led, I trust, to a 
quickened appreciation of its inestimable value 
as a message from God to the hearts and minds 
of the men and women of to-day. 


The Adaptation of the Bible to Modern Life 


Nothing is more remarkable about the Bible 
than this very thing. Partly, of course, this is 
due to the fact of its preservation and constant 
use among Christians. But it is not wholly be- 
cause of that. There is a wonderful universality 
in its language and statement. It appeals to 


human nature and modes of thought in all ages. 
117 


118 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


The people it describes are like us in their 
thoughts, feelings, yearnings, hopes. They sor- 
rowed and sinned, rejoiced and overcame as we 
do. And so the Word which came to them comes 
also to us. The Bible in the making of both of 
its two great parts was thoroughly adapted to 
its own times. It is a thoroughly oriental and 
ancient book. But it is because it suited its own 
times and made a profound and lasting impres- 
sion on the various epochs and circumstances in 
which it was produced that it has continued to 
influence so profoundly and vitally all the ages 
through which it has passed into our own. If 
these writings had not made powerful appeal to 
their own times they would never have reached 
ours, but would have perished by the way. 

In language, as we have seen, the Hebrew of 
the Old Testament was that of the Israelites be- 
fore the Captivity and Return. It embodied the 
sacred teachings and traditions of the Chosen | 
People of God. The collection of books became 
therefore a precious treasure which insured its 
care and perpetuation. The Greek of the New , 
Testament was not that of the schools and the 
classics, but that of the people and of the world 
in that age. It made its appeal to and through 
the early Christians in such a way as to lead to 
the preservation of the various books and to their 
gradual acceptance as divinely inspired and au- 
thoritative, while other contemporary writings 
were rejected and perished. 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 119 


Nor was it in language alone that the Biblical 
writings appealed to their own age. It was in 
customs, habits, modes of thought and expres- 
sion. It was live literature in its own time. 
And that is the secret. It is shown in other lit- 
erature also; but is preeminently true of the 
Bible. Of course there is, and presumably always 
has been, much ephemeral literature. But that 
survives which expresses with power those truths 
and principles which, when rightly understood 
belong to no age exclusively, but to all ages. The 
language and character, the idioms and thought- 
forms, even the means of transmission, of each 
age, are only the vehicles through which the 
greater things are conveyed. 

It is the province and privilege of Christian 
scholarship—linguistic, historical and archeolog- 
ical—to learn and explain these languages and 
customs for-us. But when they are so explained 
we find by their means the content of truth and 
teaching which they bring. Then with wonder 
and gratitude we see that as Coleridge expressed 
it, the Bible ‘‘finds’’? us. It is in many of its 
teachings, its turns of expression, its very words 
and phrases a truly modern book. Its appeal pre- 
sents the beautiful combination of ancient flavor 
and universal and therefore modern and imper- 
ishable power. 


120 | THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


The Message of the Bible to Modern Life 


What, then, is in general outline that content 
of universal appeal which makes the Bible a 
modern book? The message which it brings to 
us is in its essential features the same as for its 
own time and for all time. We have touched 
upon these elements in the introduction and else- 
where in the course of our thinking. To remind 
ourselves of them in a general way we may con- 
veniently group the elements of the Bible teach- 
ing about four centers. 

1. The idea of God. The conception of God 
as presented in the Bible is in one way so fa- 
miliar as to be commonplace, and in another way 
so little studied and thought upon as to be un- 
realized in its nobleness and greatness. Some 
narrow and prejudiced persons have even spoken 
contemptuously of Jehovah as a ‘‘tribal God.”’ 
Absurd! This is like the thought advanced above. — 
He is the God of Israel that Israel may love and 
serve him, but he is Israel’s in trust for mankind, 
as from Abraham and the prophets to Paul. Je- , 
hovah of the Old Testament is the Trinity of the 
New: Sovereign and Creator—Judge and Saviour 
—wise, just, holy. ‘‘God is love.’’ The God of 
the Bible meets every demand of the human in- 
tellect and of the human heart. The mystery of 
his being and the problems of his character and 
actions are no greater than those which meet us 
in other lines of thought; while the fact of his 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 121 


existence and the revelation of his attributes are 
the solution for many other problems. 

2. The origin, nature and destiny of man. In 
our age there is no escape from the pressure of 
these thoughts. They are as important and as 
weighty as in any age. We must continue to 
think upon them. The constant Whence, What 
and Whither in regard to man himself is to-day’s 
as well as to-morrow’s and yesterday’s problem. 
The Bible does not fully answer, but it gives us 
the key: Man is a creature of God in his own 
image, and yet a marred image—sinful but hope- 
ful, ruined yet capable of restoration—an im- 
mortal soul before whom God places the blessed 
hope and choice of eternal life. 

3. Lhe way of salvation. To the modern world 
as to the ancient comes God’s message of grace 
in the gospel. In John 3:16 it is stated: ‘‘For 
God so loved the world, that he gave his only 
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him 
should not perish, but have eternal life.’’ By our 
Lord himself in John 14:6 it is declared: ‘‘ Jesus 
saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and 
the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by 
me.’’ Peter proclaimed it in the early days of 
the church as recorded in Acts 4:12: ‘‘And in 
none other is there salvation: for neither is there 
any other name under heaven, that is given 
among men, wherein we must be saved.’’ Paul 
lays it down in memorable words as the thesis of 
the Christian world-view in Romans 1:16, 17: 


122 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


‘Mor I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is 
the power of God unto salvation to every one 
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the 
Greek. For therein is revealed a righteousness 
of God from faith unto faith: as it is written, 
But the righteous shall live by faith.’? These are 
some of the great outstanding statements; and 
there are many others. The great aim of the 
Bible is to bring to men the saving knowledge of 
God. | | 

4. The meaning of life. From first to last the 
Bible is charged with this. Man is here for a 
purpose. Israel was called for a purpose. The 
gospel was given for a purpose of service as well 
as of redemption. Jesus accepted and defined 
this service for himself in many sayings, notably 
in Matthew 20:28: ‘‘Even as the Son of man 
came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, 
and to give his life a ransom for many.’’ Thus 
he made it the duty and privilege of his followers. 
Paul in many places shows how he understood | 
and applied it, notably in Philippians 1:21: ‘‘To 
me to live is Christ.’? And so the four telling 
words of the Bible’s message are: God—Man— 
Salvation—Service! 


The Need of the Bible in Modern Life 


The Bible in its origins is indeed an ancient 
book, but it is not an antiquated book. Its mes- 
sage has ever been needed and was never more 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 123 


needed than now. The state of affairs through- 
out the world; the social, political, commercial, 
domestic, and religious conditions prevalent in 
our own loved country; the manifestation and 
reflection of these conditions in our particular 
communities and circles; yes, and our conscious 
or unconscious personal reactions toward all this 
environment, whether near or remote; all these 
things emphasize with startling force the need of 
the Bible and its message in this modern world 
of ours. By bringing up again the points we 
have just considered we shall see this more 
clearly. 

Do we moderns need what the Bible tells us 
of God? Most assuredly. If there is anything 
that the mind and heart of this poor world needs 
to-day it is the God revealed in the Bible. It is 
said that Napoleon on reading LaPlace’s Celes- 
tial Mechamecs said to the brilliant atheistic 
author, ‘‘There is no mention of God in your 
book,’’ and LaPlace replied, ‘‘Sire, I had no need 
of that hypothesis.’? This was the narrow an- 
swer of pride; and it was false. He did need 
‘‘that hypothesis.’?’ All men need it. There is 
an unconquerable yearning of the brain and heart 
after God. It was expressed with intense emo- 
tion by Job when he said (Job 23:3): ‘‘Oh that 
I knew where I might find him!’’ And by the 
psalmist (Psalm 42:1): ‘‘As the hart panteth 
after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after 
thee, O God.’’ There are many such utterances 


124 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


in the Bible itself, and scattered throughout all 
literature. Among the moderns none has put it 
more clearly and strongly than John Fiske:* 
‘“There igs in every earnest thinker a craving 
after a final cause; and this craving can no more 
be extinguished than our belief in objective 
reality. Nothing can persuade us that the uni- 
verse is a farrago of nonsense. Our belief in 
what we call the evidence of our senses is less 
strong than our faith that in the orderly sequence 
of events there is a meaning which our minds 
could fathom were they only vast enough.’’ 
With our own understanding of it we may use 
LaPlace’s expression and call belief in God a 
‘‘hypothesis.’’?’ This thought is involved in the 
very idea of faith. The writer of Hebrews has 
given immortal expression to it in the words 
(Hebrews 11:6): ‘‘He that cometh to God must | 
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of 
those who seek him.’? The scientific method is 
partial knowledge, hypothesis, investigation, con- - 
firmation. And this is the way of faith. It is a 
perfectly sound process. We need not be afraid 
of it, for it is normal in the religious sphere. 
Our need of God, of the Bible idea of God, is 
emphasized when we think of other attempts to 
explain the mystery of being and of the process 
of things. There are three ways of looking at 
these without reference to God: Fate, Chance, 
and Law. The last is a modern conception. The © 
1 The Idea of God, p. 138. 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 125 


other two are very ancient. The prophet Isaiah 
(Isa. 65:11) rebukes a group among his people 
by describing them as ‘‘ye that forsake Jehovah, 
that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a 
table for Fortune, and that fill up mingled wine 
unto Destiny.’’ Here Chance and Fortune are 
thought of as false substitutes for God. In mod- 
ern times men have made more or less of a fetish 
out of Law, especially as prevalent in the phys- 
ical universe. But even so, these hypotheses do 
not meet and satisfy the cravings of the mind 
and heart of man for a personal spiritual God. 
That there is an element of truth in all these con- 
ceptions may be granted. Expressions here and 
there in the Bible simply and naturally make use 
of the ideas of Destiny and Fortune and Law. 
But all that is true in fate is included in the 
thought of the divine foreordination, which is a 
Biblical doctrine. All that is true in the idea of 
fortune is provided for in the Bible teachings 
concerning the providence of God even in the 
most minute affairs. And all that is implied in 
the idea of law and causation finds frequent ex- 
pression, both poetical and doctrinal, in the sim- 
ple, often child-like language, in which God is 
identified with the great powers and forces of 
nature. 

These thoughts of God appeal to science and 
philosophy. But we know that there is a broader 
and fuller appeal to man than these can make. 
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ is the glo- 


126 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


rious Father whose being includes every worthy 
thought that man can have concerning deity. 
Our thinking is imperfect, our language is inade- 
quate; but, accepting these qualifications, we can 
say with truth that the God revealed in the Bible 
satisfies every demand of the human soul. He is 
Creator and Sovereign, the cause and end of all 
things. And with all this he is a spiritual being, 
perfect in holiness, in justice, in wisdom, and in 
love. 

Does the modern world need the conception of 
man as he is presented in the Bible? Certainly 
it does. The trend of scientific thought in mod- 
ern times has, to say the least of it, not presented 
an elevated or a possibly final conception of man. 
Candid scientists are frank to acknowledge that 
the views which they more or less firmly hold or 
teach are only hypothetical at best. Science has 
no certain word as yet to say concerning the 
origin and destiny of man. All it can do with — 
these two categories, of origin and destiny, is to - 
investigate and discuss man as he is. And again 
it must be acknowledged that such investigation 
and discussion are far from satisfactory. The: 
materialist gives us a very poor idea of what 
man is, one which neither intellect nor sentiment 
can accept as complete or final. The Bible does ~ 
not hesitate to tell us that man is a creation of 
God, that he has spiritual life, and that there is 
assurance of immortality for him. The Bible is 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 127 


positive where mere reasoning is doubtful and 
hesitant. | 

The picture of man’s actual condition pre- 
sented in the Bible accords with the facts of ob- 
servation and consciousness. Callit by whatever 
terms you may, man is a sinner and knows it. 
The warfare in his soul is constant. Modern 
psychologists may call it ‘‘the divided self,’’ but 
modern thinking did not discover the fact; that 
has come down through all the ages. The Bible 
is a mirror of the soul. In its wonderful teach- 
ings man sees what he is. The modern mind 
needs such a discussion as that of Paul in the 
eighth chapter of Romans concerning man’s re- 
demption and glory. But it also needs the pic- 
ture of man’s wretchedness and impotence, as 
described in the seventh chapter. We must re- 
alize the terrible paradox presented in the 
spiritual experience of mankind. We need the 
sense of sin to counteract pride, and the comfort 
of faith to offset despair. At his best man needs 
the whip of divine justice, and at his worst the 
lift of divine grace. 

Does the modern man need the plan of salva- 
tion presented in the gospel? Where is there any 
other? Every system of human thought, ancient 
or modern, leaves man where it finds him. There 
is no gospel outside of the Bible. The heart of 
the Bible is the atonement. It tells of man’s 
finding God by the way of the cross of Jesus 


128 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


Christ: It presents the supreme sacrifice of love. 
It emphasizes the need of redemption through 
suffering. In the Bible we find the divine para- 
dox of mercy and judgment, how God can be just 
and yet the justifier of him who hath faith in. 
Jesus. Never mind just now about theories of 
the atonement, never mind about critical objec- 
tions to the shedding of blood as a sacrifice for 
sin. Logic stumbles and questions, but love over- 
comes. Great thinkers and simple savages alike 
have found here their peace and their hope in a 
Saviour who was at once divine and human and 
gave his life that by trusting in him men might 
be saved. We have here the eternal and pertecr 
way of salvation for man. 

Do we need the ideal of a good life as pre- 
sented in the Bible? Where shall we go to find 
one as good or better? It cannot be found else- 
where. There is no better. Here éven skeptical 
criticism for the most part sinks to a suspicious 
whisper, or at worst to a malicious snarl. Great 
thinkers of every school are well nigh unanimous 
in praise of the Biblical conception of the mean- 
ing and purpose and obligation of human life as 
that is variously unfolded in the Bible and finally 
approved, expounded and enjoined in the exam- 
ple and teachings of Jesus Christ. John Stuart 
Mill, one of the keenest skeptical thinkers of the 
nineteenth century, candidly said, ‘‘ Religion can- 
not be said to have made a bad choice in pitching 
on this Man as an ideal representative and guide 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 129 


to humanity; nor even now would it be easy 
even for an unbeliever to find a better transla- 
tion of the rule of virtue from the abstract into 
the concrete than the endeavor so to live that 
Christ would approve our life.’’? 

The immediate followers of Jesus, including the 
authorized interpreters of his principles and doc- 
trines, warmly accepted and frequently expressed 
his ideals. Notable utterances are found in all 
the New Testament writers. John was the apos- 
tle of love, James of practical Christianity, Peter 
of the glorifying obligation of Christian duty; 
while Paul in teaching and in life set forth with 
power and eloquence the essentials of Christian 
living. For himself he declares (Gal. 2:20): 
‘‘The life which I now live in the flesh I live by 
the faith of the Son of God who loved me and 
gave himself for me.”’ 

It is totally beside the mark to say that the 
glorious ideal has never been realized. Certainly 
it has not. Disobedience to God is the charac- 
teristic sin of the Old Testament, and rejection 
of Jesus and his gospel that of the New. Igno- 
rance, unbelief, and hostility have characterized 
man’s attitude toward the life, as well as the doc- 
trine of the gospel. They do still. But this very 
condition constitutes the ever-existing need of 
the gospel. On the other hand, it is true that the 
nearer men have come, both in personal and in 
social life, to realizing the Biblical ideal, their 


2 Three Essays on Religion, p. 255. 


130 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


human life has found its noblest expression. 
Those who make the personal struggle for nobler 
and better living know that the nearer they are 
to being and doing what Jesus taught, the more 
pure and strong their lives become. In observ- 
ing others every one knows that the best people 
in the world are the best Christians in it. The 
ideal Christian is the ideal person. HWxtending 
this thought, it is easy to see and to say that the 
best social life, community life, is that in which 
the principles of Bible living are exemplified. 
From the Ten Commandments to the Sermon on 
the Mount the Bible throbs with the possibility, 
the duty, and the glory of noble living. The su- 
preme moral and social need of our time, as of 
all times, is the realization in actual life of the 
ideal thus presented in the Word of God. 


Our Duty to the Bible in Modern Ivfe 


It is natural and proper that from the point. 
which last engaged our attention we should come, 
as a conclusion to our whole study, to consider - 
our obligation as Christians in regard to tHe 
Bible and the life of our times. It is simple and 
obvious to say that in view of the Bible’s mes- 
sage and the present evil world’s deep and des- - 
perate need of just that message our duty is to 
give the Bible to the world. Prayerfully and 
earnestly we are to think of how we can best dis- 
charge that duty. 


THE BIBLE AND MODERN LIFE 131 


Perhaps the most obvious, as it is the easiest 
way, is to give money to those Christian organi- 
zations whose purpose is to spread the Bible and 
its teachings throughout the world. Missionary 
Boards and Bible Societies abound. They must 
be supported. They are doing a vast and exten- 
sive work in making known the truths of God in 
the home country and throughout all lands. They 
are now an essential and integral part of Chris- 
tian organization and effort. Every dollar given 
to aid in the propagation of Bible principles is 
both a sound and a productive investment. The 
missionary ideal is the ultimate triumph of the 
truth of God in every heart. and home and land. 

This material expression of concern for the 
spread of the truth must be founded in the actual 
personal interest of Christian people. In our 
own lives we must exemplify and teach the Bible 
to others. This is not for our own benefit only, 
but it is for the sake of all who can behold our’ 
conduct and be influenced by example. Jesus 
said, ‘‘Let your light shine that others may see 
your good works and glorify your Father who 
is in heaven.’’ 

Besides this silent influence there should be 
active, practical effort to teach the Bible to 
others. The great Sunday-school work in its 
many phases and opportunities is before us. By 
active participation and by encouragement and 
support every Christian should in some way be 
enlisted in this work. As we have seen, it reaches 


132 THE BIBLE OUR HERITAGE 


out from the individual and the community to the 
uttermost bounds of creation. Jesus said, ‘‘Ye 
are my witnesses unto the uttermost parts of 
the earth.’’ , , 

It remains simply to point out in conclusion the 
indispensable, personal duty. Everybody ought 
to be a Christian, and the best Christian possible. 
Beginning with the consciousness and shame of 
sin and fault, resolutely turning away from evil, 
confiding and trusting one’s whole self to the 
Saviour in love and gratitude for his grace, and 
then out of these showing in thought and in con- 
duct alike a loyal allegiance to the Lord, which 
worships him and serves fellowman—this is to be 
the ideal Christian. | 

Jesus said that if lifted on the cross he would 
draw all men to himself. Paul said he was will- 
ing to become all things to all men that by all 
means he might save some. So to bring the lost 
world to Jesus Christ is the imperative duty of 
Christians. To place the Word of God in every 
home, in every tongue, in every life on this planet 
is the tremendous task of the people of God to- — 
day. So in every way let us labor and pray that — 
the grand prophetic ideal may be reached, and 
‘‘the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Je- 
hovah as the waters cover the sea.’’ 


THE END 


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Cn Sotete 
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